1 Samuel 4:1–11

And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer,^q and the Philistines at Aphek.^{r 2}The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. ³When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why^s did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark^t of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh,^u so that he may go with us^v and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

⁴So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim.^w And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout^x that the ground shook. ⁶Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew^y camp?”

When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, ⁷the Philistines were afraid.^z “A god has^a come into the camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before. ⁸We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck^a the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues^b in the wilderness. ⁹Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they^c have been to you. Be men, and fight!”

¹⁰So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated^d and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.^e