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1 SamuelChapter 4

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Samuel's word came to all Israel. Now Israel marched out to meet the Philistines in battle. They camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines drew up their lines against Israel, and when the battle was joined, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the field of battle.
When the troops came back to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why has the LORD let us be defeated today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD's covenant here from Shiloh, so that it may come among us and save us from the hand of our enemies."
So the people sent to Shiloh, and they carried from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
When the ark of the LORD's covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the earth shook.
Hearing the noise of the shouting, the Philistines asked, "What is this sound of great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews?" Then they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp.
The Philistines were afraid, for they said, "A god has come into their camp!" And they said, "We are lost! Nothing like this has ever happened before.
We are lost! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the wilderness.
Be strong, Philistines, and be men, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews as they were slaves to you. Be men, and fight!"
So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated. Every man fled to his tent, and the slaughter was very great: thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
That same day a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his seat beside the road, watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. The man came into the city to tell the news, and the whole city cried out.
When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he asked, "What is this uproar?" Then the man hurried and came and told Eli.
Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes had grown dim, so that he could not see.
The man said to Eli, "I am the one who has come from the battle line; I fled from the battle today." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?"
The messenger answered, "Israel fled before the Philistines. There was a great slaughter among the troops. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured."
When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his seat beside the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. He had led Israel forty years.
His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.
As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Do not be afraid; you have given birth to a son." But she did not answer or take it to heart.
She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"—because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."
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