1 Samuel 4

1 And Samuel told to all the people of Israel the messages that God gave him. At that time the Israeli army went to fight against the army of the Philistine people. The Israeli army set up their tents at Ebenezer, and the Philistine army set up their tents at Aphek.

And it happened that, in those days, the Philistines assembled to fight. And Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and he made camp beside the Stone of Assistance. But the Philistines went to Aphek,

2 The Philistine army attacked the Israeli army, and as the battle continued, the Philistines defeated the Israelis and killed about 4,000 of their soldiers.

and they positioned their troops against Israel. Then, when the conflict began, Israel turned his back to the Philistines. And they were cut down in that conflict, in various places in the fields, about four thousand men.

3 When the remaining Israeli soldiers returned to their camp, the Israeli elders/leaders said, “Why did Yahweh allow the Philistine army to defeat us today? We should bring the chest that contains the Ten Commandments here from Shiloh, in order that Yahweh will go with us [when we go to the battle again, and] in order that our enemies will not defeat us again!”

And the people returned to the camp. And those greater by birth of Israel said: “Why has the Lord struck us today before the Philistines? Let us bring to ourselves the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. And let it enter into our midst, so that it may save us from the hand of our enemies.”

4 So the soldiers did that. They sent some men to Shiloh, and those men brought back the chest that contained the Ten Commandments. [They thought that if they did that, Yahweh would help them. They believed that] Yahweh sat on a throne between the statues of winged creatures [that were on top of] the chest that Yahweh Almighty [had given them]. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, went with them.

Therefore, the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, sitting upon the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 When the Israeli people saw [the men bringing] the box into their camp, they were so happy that they shouted loudly. They shouted so loudly that they made the ground shake!

And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord had arrived in the camp, all of Israel shouted with a great clamor, and the land resounded.

6 The Philistines asked, “What are the people in the Hebrew camp shouting about?” Someone told them that they were shouting because the chest that contained the Ten Commandments of Yahweh had been brought to them.

And the Philistines heard the voice of the clamor, and they said, “What is this voice of a great clamor in the camp of the Hebrews?” And they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived in the camp.

7 Then the Philistines became very afraid. They said, “One of the Israelis’ gods has come into their camp [to help them] We are in big trouble now! Nothing like this has happened to us before!

And the Philistines were afraid, saying, “God has entered into the camp.” And they groaned, saying:

8 (Who can/Can anyone) save us from their powerful gods [RHQ]? They are the gods who struck the people of Egypt with many plagues [before the Israelis left Egypt and traveled] through the desert.

“Woe to us! For there was no such great exultation yesterday, or the day before. Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these sublime gods? These are the gods who struck Egypt with all the plagues, in the desert.”

9 You Philistine men, be courageous! Fight very hard! If you do not do that, [they will defeat us, and then] you will become their slaves, just like they have been our slaves previously!”

“Be strengthened, and be manly, O Philistines! Otherwise, you may serve the Hebrews, as they also have served you. Be strengthened and wage war!”

10 So the Philistine men fought very hard, and they defeated the Israelis. They killed 30,000 Israeli soldiers, and the other Israeli soldiers fled and ran away to their tents.

Therefore, the Philistines fought, and Israel was cut down, and each one fled to his own tent. And an exceedingly great slaughter occurred. And thirty thousand foot soldiers from Israel fell.

11 The Philistines captured the sacred chest, and they killed Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas.

And the ark of God was captured. Also, the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

12 On that same day, one man of the tribe [descended from] Benjamin tore his clothes and threw dirt on his head [to show that he was very sad]. He ran from the place where the armies were fighting, and he arrived at Shiloh late [that afternoon].

Now a man of Benjamin, rushing from the troops, arrived at Shiloh on the same day, with his clothing torn, and with his head sprinkled with dust.

13 Eli was waiting beside the road. [He wanted to hear news about the battle, and] he was also very anxious to know if anything bad had happened to God’s sacred chest. When the messenger arrived and told people what had happened, everyone in the town started to cry loudly.

And when he had arrived, Eli was sitting on a seat opposite the way, gazing out. For his heart was fearful on behalf of the ark of God. Then, after this man entered the city, he announced it to the city. And the entire city wailed.

14 Eli asked, “Why are they making all that noise?” The messenger ran over to Eli and told him the news.

And Eli heard the sound of the outcry, and he said, “What is this sound, this tumult?” And the man hurried, and he went and announced it to Eli.

15 At that time, Eli was 98 years old, and he was blind.

Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes had dimmed, so that he was not able to see.

16 The messenger said to Eli, “I have just come from where the armies were fighting. I left there earlier today.” Eli asked, “What happened?”

And he said to Eli: “I am the one who came from the battle. And it is I who fled from the troops today.” And he said to him, “What has happened, my son?”

17 The man replied, “The Philistines defeated our Israeli army. They killed thousands of our soldiers, and the others ran away. The Philistines killed your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They also captured God’s sacred chest.”

And responding, the man reported and said: “Israel has fled before the Philistines. And a great ruin has happened to the people. Moreover, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also have died. And the ark of God has been captured.”

18 Eli was very old, and he was very fat; and when he heard what had happened to the sacred chest, he fell backward from his chair beside the town gate. His neck was broken and he died. He had led the Israeli people for 40 years before he died.

And when he had named the ark of God, he fell from the seat backwards, toward the door, and, having broken his neck, he died. For he was an old man of great age. And he judged Israel for forty years.

19 The wife/widow of Eli’s son Phinehas was pregnant, and it was almost time for her to give birth to her baby. When she heard that God’s sacred chest had been captured and that her husband and her father-in-law were dead, her labor pains suddenly began. She quickly gave birth to a boy.

Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, and her delivery was near. And upon hearing the news that the ark of God had been captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she bent down and went into labor. For her pains rushed upon her suddenly.

20 The women who were helping her tried to encourage her by saying to her, “You have given birth to a son!” But she did not pay any attention [DOU] to what they said.

Then, when she was near death, those who were standing around her said to her, “You should not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond to them, and she did not notice them.

21 She named the boy Ichabod, which means ‘no glory’, because she said, “[God’s] glory has departed from Israel.” She said that because God’s sacred chest had been captured and because her husband and her father-in-law had died.

And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory of Israel has been taken away,” because the ark of God was captured, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

22 She said, “[God’s] glory has left Israel, because God’s sacred chest has been captured!” And then she died.

And she said, “The glory has been taken away from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured.