1 Samuel 3–4

¹And the youth Samuel is serving Jehovah before Eli, and the word of Jehovah hath been precious in those days—there is no vision broken forth. ²And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Eli is lying down in his place, and his eyes have begun to be dim—he is not able to see. ³And the lamp of God is not yet extinguished, and Samuel is lying down in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God is, ⁴and Jehovah calleth unto Samuel, and he saith, ‘Here am I.’ ⁵And he runneth unto Eli, and saith, ‘Here am I, for thou hast called for me;’ and he saith, ‘I called not; turn back, lie down;’ and he goeth and lieth down. ⁶And Jehovah addeth to call again Samuel, and Samuel riseth and goeth unto Eli, and saith, ‘Here am I, for thou hast called for me;’ and he saith, ‘I have not called, my son, turn back, lie down.’ ⁷And Samuel hath not yet known Jehovah, and the word of Jehovah is not yet revealed unto him. ⁸And Jehovah addeth to call Samuel the third time, and he riseth and goeth unto Eli, and saith, ‘Here am I, for thou hast called for me;’ and Eli understandeth that Jehovah is calling to the youth. ⁹And Eli saith to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down, and it hath been, if He doth call unto thee, that thou hast said, Speak, Jehovah, for Thy servant is hearing;’ and Samuel goeth and lieth down in his place. ¹⁰And Jehovah cometh, and stationeth Himself, and calleth as time by time, ‘Samuel, Samuel;’ and Samuel saith, ‘Speak, for Thy servant if hearing.’

¹¹And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, ‘Lo, I am doing a thing in Israel, at which the two ears of every one hearing it do tingle. ¹²In that day I establish unto Eli all that I have spoken unto his house, beginning and completing; ¹³and I have declared to him that I am judging his house—to the age, for the iniquity which he hath known, for his sons are making themselves vile, and he hath not restrained them, ¹⁴and therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli: the iniquity of the house of Eli is not atoned for, by sacrifice, and by offering—unto the age.’ ¹⁵And Samuel lieth till the morning, and openeth the doors of the house of Jehovah, and Samuel is afraid of declaring the vision unto Eli. ¹⁶And Eli calleth Samuel, and saith, ‘Samuel, my son;’ and he saith, ‘Here am I.’ ¹⁷And he saith, ‘What is the word which He hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me; so doth God do to thee, and so doth He add, if thou hidest from me a word of all the words that He hath spoken unto thee.’ ¹⁸And Samuel declareth to him the whole of the words, and hath not hid from him; and he saith, ‘It is Jehovah; that which is good in His eyes He doth.’

¹⁹And Samuel groweth up, and Jehovah hath been with him, and hath not let fall any of his words to the earth; ²⁰and all Israel know, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, that Samuel is established for a prophet to Jehovah. ²¹And Jehovah addeth to appear in Shiloh, for Jehovah hath been revealed unto Samuel, in Shiloh, by the word of Jehovah.

Chapter 4

¹And the word of Samuel is to all Israel, and Israel goeth out to meet the Philistines for battle, and they encamp by Eben-Ezer, and the Philistines have encamped in Aphek, ²and the Philistines set themselves in array to meet Israel, and the battle spreadeth itself, and Israel is smitten before the Philistines, and they smite among the ranks in the field about four thousand men. ³And the people cometh in unto the camp, and the elders of Israel say, ‘Why hath Jehovah smitten us to-day before the Philistines? we take unto us from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and it cometh into our midst, and He doth save us out of the hand of our enemies.’ ⁴And the people sendeth to Shiloh, and they take up thence the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of Hosts, inhabiting the cherubs, and there are two sons of Eli, with the ark of the covenant of God, Hophni and Phinehas. ⁵And it cometh to pass, at the coming in of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto the camp, that all Israel shout—a great shout—and the earth is moved. ⁶And the Philistines hear the noise of the shouting, and say, ‘What is the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?’ and they perceive that the ark of Jehovah hath come in unto the camp. ⁷And the Philistines are afraid, for they said, ‘God hath come in unto the camp;’ and they say, ‘Woe to us, for there hath not been like this heretofore. ⁸Woe to us, who doth deliver us out of the hand of these honourable gods? these are the gods who are smiting the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness. ⁹Strengthen yourselves, and become men, O Philistines, lest ye do service to Hebrews, as they have done to you—then ye have become men, and have fought.’

¹⁰And the Philistines fight, and Israel is smitten, and they flee each to his tents, and the blow is very great, and there fall of Israel thirty thousand footmen; ¹¹and the ark of God hath been taken, and the two sons of Eli have died, Hophni and Phinehas.

¹²And a man of Benjamin runneth out of the ranks, and cometh into Shiloh, on that day, and his long robes are rent, and earth on his head; ¹³and he cometh in, and lo, Eli is sitting on the throne by the side of the way, watching, for his heart hath been trembling for the ark of God, and the man hath come in to declare it in the city, and all the city crieth out. ¹⁴And Eli heareth the noise of the cry, and saith, ‘What—the noise of this tumult!’ And the man hasted, and cometh in, and declareth to Eli. ¹⁵And Eli is a son of ninety and eight years, and his eyes have stood, and he hath not been able to see. ¹⁶And the man saith unto Eli, ‘I am he who hath come out of the ranks, and I out of the ranks have fled to-day;’ and he saith, ‘What hath been the matter, my son?’ ¹⁷And he who is bearing tidings answereth and saith, ‘Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and also a great slaughter hath been among the people, and also thy two sons have died—Hophni and Phinehas—and the ark of God hath been captured.’ ¹⁸And it cometh to pass, at his mentioning the ark of God, that he falleth from off the throne backward, by the side of the gate, and his neck is broken, and he dieth, for the man is old and heavy, and he hath judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹And his daughter-in-law, wife of Phinehas, is pregnant, about to bear, and she heareth the report of the taking of the ark of God, that her father-in-law and her husband have died, and she boweth, and beareth, for her pains have turned upon her. ²⁰And at the time of her death, when the women who are standing by her say, ‘Fear not, for a son thou hast borne,’ she hath not answered, nor set her heart to it; ²¹and she calleth the youth I-Chabod, saying, ‘Honour hath removed from Israel,’ because of the taking of the ark of God, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²²And she saith, ‘Honour hath removed from Israel, for the ark of God hath been taken.’

Chapter 5