1 Samuel 4:1–11

¹And Samuel’s words came to all Israel.

The Ark Captured by the Philistines

Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and ^qcamped at Ebenezer ^rwhile the Philistines camped at Aphek. ^s2The Philistines lined up in battle formation against Israel, and as the battle intensified, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about 4,000 men on the battlefield.

³When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? ^tLet’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it ^uwill go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” ^v4So the people sent men to Shiloh to bring back the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. ^wEli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. ⁵When the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a loud shout that the ground shook. ^x

⁶The Philistines heard the sound of the war cry and asked, “What’s this loud shout in the Hebrews’ camp?” When the Philistines discovered that the ark of the Lord had entered the camp, ⁷they panicked. “The gods have entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us, nothing like this has happened before. ^y8Woe to us, who will rescue us from the hand of these magnificent gods? These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ⁹Show some courage and be men, Philistines! ^zOtherwise, you’ll serve the Hebrews just as they served you. ^aNow be men and fight!”

¹⁰So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, ^band each man fled to his tent. ^cThe slaughter was severe—30,000 of the Israelite foot soldiers fell. ¹¹The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died. ^d