And the word of the LORD through Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and they camped beside ^aEbenezer while the Philistines camped at ^bAphek. 2 The Philistines assembled in battle formation to meet Israel, and when the battle was over, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3 When the people (soldiers) came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “^aWhy has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? ^bLet us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, so that He may come among us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent word to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts ^awho sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 So it happened that as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, ^aall the people of Israel shouted with a great shout, and the earth resounded. 6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. 7 The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “^aWoe disaster is coming to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will rescue us from the hand of these mighty ¹gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 ^aTake courage, and be men, O Philistines, so that you do not become servants to the Hebrews, ^bas they have been servants to you; act like men and fight!”

10 So the Philistines fought; ^aIsrael was defeated and ^bevery man fled to his tent. It was a very great defeat, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 Also the ark of God was taken; and ^athe two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed. 1+@Sam 2:34

12 Now a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that same day with ^ahis clothes torn and dust on his head as signs of mourning over the disaster. 13 When he arrived, ^aEli was sitting on his seat by the road, keeping watch, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. When the man arrived to report the news in the city, everyone in the city cried out to God, for help. 14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he asked, “What is the noise of this uproar?” And the man came hurriedly and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; ^ahis eyes were dim so that he could not see. 16 The man said to Eli, “I have come from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” Eli said, “^aHow did things go, my son?” 17 The messenger replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.” 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, ^aEli fell off the seat backwards by the side of the city gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant, and was about to give birth; so when she heard the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, because her labor pains began. 20 And about the time of her death following the sudden birth the women attending her said to her, “^aDo not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay any attention. 21 And she named the boy ¹Ichabod, saying, “^aThe glory has left Israel,” because ^bthe ark of God had been taken and because of the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, “The glory has left Israel, for the ark of God has been taken.”

Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside ^aEbenezer, and the Philistines camped in ^bAphek. 2 And the Philistines arranged themselves to meet Israel. Then the battle spread, and Israel was ¹defeated before the Philistines who struck down about 4,000 men on the battlefield. 3 Then the people came into the camp, and the elders of Israel said, “^aWhy has Yahweh ¹defeated us today before the Philistines? ^bLet us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, that ²it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts ^awho sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 And it happened that as the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp, ^aall Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth was thrown into confusion. 6 Then the Philistines heard the noise of the shout and said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they knew that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “^aWoe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 ^aBe strong and become men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews, ^bas they have been slaves to you; therefore, become men and fight.”

10 So the Philistines fought, and ^aIsrael was ¹defeated, and ^bevery man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel 30,000 foot soldiers. 11 And the ark of God was taken; and ^athe two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

12 Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with ^ahis robes torn and ¹dust on his head. 13 And he came, and behold, ^aEli was sitting on his seat ¹by the road eagerly watching because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. Now the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. 14 Then Eli heard the noise of the outcry, and he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” So the man came hurriedly and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and ^ahis eyes had set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I fled from the battle line today.” And he said, “^aHow did things go, my son?” 17 Then the one who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.” 18 And it happened that when he mentioned the ark of God, ^1aEli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died, for the man was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.

19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was with child and about to give birth. And she heard the report that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, so she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “^aDo not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she called the boy ¹Ichabod, saying, “^aThe glory has departed from Israel,” because ^bthe ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”

So the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and they camped beside ^aEbenezer, while the Philistines camped in ^bAphek. 2 Then the Philistines drew up in battle formation to meet Israel. When the battle ¹spread, Israel was ²defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3 When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “^aWhy has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? ^bLet’s take the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that He may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD of armies ^awho is enthroned above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 And as the ark of the covenant of the LORD was coming into the camp, ^aall Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. 7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “^aWoe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 ^aTake courage and be men, Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, ^bas they have been slaves to you; so be men and fight!”

10 So the Philistines fought and ^aIsrael was defeated, and ^bevery man fled to his tent; and the defeat was very great, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 Moreover, the ark of God was taken; and ^athe two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

12 Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with ^ahis clothes torn, and ¹dust on his head. 13 When he came, behold, ^aEli was sitting on his seat ¹by the road keeping watch, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. And the man came to give a report in the city, and all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and ^ahis eyes were ¹fixed and he could not see. 16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “^aHow are things, my son?” 17 Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great defeat among the people, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas are also dead; and the ark of God has been taken.” 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, ^1aEli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for ²he was old and heavy. And so he judged Israel for forty years.

19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, because her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women who were standing by her said to her, “^aDo not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the boy ¹Ichabod, saying, “^aThe glory has departed from Israel,” because ^bthe ark of God had been taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 So she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been taken.”