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 came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered themselves together against Israel to war; and Israel went out to meet them and encamped at Abenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphec.

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 the Philistines prepare to fight with Israel, and the battle was turned against them; and the men of Israel fell before the Philistines, and there were struck in the battle in the field 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 came to the camp, and the elders of Israel said, Why has the Lord caused us to fall this day before the Philistines? let us take the ark of our God out of Selom, and let it proceed from the midst of us, and it shall 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.

And the people sent to Selom, and they take thence the ark of the Lord who dwells between the cherubs: and both the sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, [were] with the ark.

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 it came to pass when the ark of the Lord entered into the camp, that all Israel cried out with a loud voice, and the earth 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 cry, and the Philistines said, What [is] this great cry in the camp of the Hebrews: and they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into 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 feared, and said, These are the Gods that are come to them into the camp.

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, O Lord, deliver us today for such a thing has not happened aforetime: woe to us, who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these [are] the Gods that struck Egypt with every plague, and in the wilderness.

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!”

Strengthen yourselves and behave yourselves like men, O you Philistines, that you may not serve the Hebrews as they have served us, but be you men and fight with them.

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.

And they fought with them; and the men of Israel fall, and they fled every man to his ten; and there was a very great slaughter; and there fell of Israel thirty thousand fighting men.

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

And the ark of God was taken, and both the sons of Heli, Ophni, and Phinees, 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].

And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the battle, and he came to Selom on that day: and his clothes [were] tore, and earth [was] upon his head.

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 he came, an behold, Heli was upon the seat by the gate looking along the way, for his heart was greatly alarmed for the ark of God: and the man entered into the city to bring tidings; and the city cried out.

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

And Heli heard the sound of the cry, and said, What [is] the voice of this cry? and the men hasted and went in, and reported to Heli.

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

Now Heli [was] ninety years old, and his eyes were fixed, and he saw not.

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 Heli said to them that stood round about him, What [is] the voice of this sound? And the man hasted and advanced to Heli, and said to him, I am he that is come out of the camp, and I have fled from the battle today: and Heli said, What [is] the even, [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 they young man answered and said, The men of Israel fled from the face of the Philistines, and there was a great slaughter among the people, and both your sons are dead, and the ark of God is taken.

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 it came to pass, when he mentioned the ark of God, that he fell from the seat backward near the gate, and his back was broken, and he died, for [he was] an old man and heavy: and he judged Israel twenty 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.

And his daughter-in-law the wife of Phinees [was] with child, [about] to bring forth; and she heard the tidings, that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead; and she wept and was delivered, for her pains came upon her.

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.

And in her time she was at the point of death; and the women that stood by her, said to her, Fear not, for you have born a son: but she answered not, and her heart did not regard it.

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 child Uaebarchaboth, because of the ark of God, and because of her father-in-law, and because of her husband.

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

And they said, The glory of Israel is departed, forasmuch as the ark of the Lord is taken.