1 Samuel 4
1 The word of Samuel came to all of Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They set up camp at Ebenezer, and the Philistines set up camp at Aphek.
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.
2 The Philistines lined up for battle against Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle.
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.
3 When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh here from Shiloh, that it may be here with us, that it might keep us safe from the hands of our enemies.”
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!”
4 So the people sent men to Shiloh; from there they carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts, who sits above the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
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.
5 When the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp, all of the people of Israel gave a great shout, and the earth resounded.
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!
6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they realized that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp.
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.
7 The Philistines were afraid; they said, “A god has come into the camp.” They said, “Woe to us! Nothing like this has happened before!
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!
8 Woe to us! Who will protect us from the strength of these mighty gods? These are the gods who attacked the Egyptians with many different kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
(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.
9 Take courage, and be men, you Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you. Be men, and fight.”
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!”
10 The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated. Every man fled to his house, and the slaughter was very great; for thirty thousand foot soldiers from Israel fell.
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.
11 The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Philistines captured the sacred chest, and they killed Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas.
12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, arriving with his clothes torn and earth on his head.
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].
13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching because his heart trembled with concern for the ark of God. When the man entered the city and told the news, the whole city cried out.
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.
14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What is the meaning of this uproar?” The man quickly came and told Eli.
Eli asked, “Why are they making all that noise?” The messenger ran over to Eli and told him the news.
15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; his eyes did not focus, and he could not see.
At that time, Eli was 98 years old, and he was blind.
16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. I fled from the battle today.” Eli said, “How did it go, my son?”
The messenger said to Eli, “I have just come from where the armies were fighting. I left there earlier today.” Eli asked, “What happened?”
17 The man who brought the news answered and said, “Israel fled from the Philistines. Also, there has been a great defeat among the people. Also, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.”
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.”
18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate. His neck was broken, and he died, because he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.
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.
19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she knelt down and gave birth, but her labor pains overwhelmed her.
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.
20 About the time of her death the women attending to her said, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or take what they said to heart.
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.
21 She named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has gone away from Israel!” for the ark of God had been captured, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
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.
22 She said, “The glory has gone away from Israel, because the ark of God has been captured.”
She said, “[God’s] glory has left Israel, because God’s sacred chest has been captured!” And then she died.
