4 So, ·news about Samuel [or Samuel’s words] spread through all of Israel.

The Philistines Capture the Ark of the Agreement

At that time the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines [^Ca rival nation occupying the southwest coast of Israel]. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer [^Csomewhere near Aphek; means “stone of help”] and the Philistines [^Lcamped] at Aphek [^Con the plain of Sharon, northeast of Joppa]. ² The Philistines ·went [deployed; drew up in battlelines] to meet the Israelites in battle. And ·as the battle spread [or when battle was joined], they defeated the Israelites, killing about four thousand soldiers on the battlefield. ³ When ·some Israelite soldiers [^Lthe troops] went back to their camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord ·let the Philistines defeat us [or defeat/rout us before the Philistines]? Let’s bring the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] ·with [or of] the Lord [^Cthe Ark represented the presence of God; Ex. 25:10–22] here from Shiloh [1:3] and take it with us into battle. Then ·God [or it] will save us from the ·power [^Lhand] of our enemies.”

⁴ So the ·people [or troops] sent men to Shiloh [1:3]. They brought back the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] ·with [or of] the Lord [4:3] ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; of Hosts], who sits ·between [on] the ·gold creatures with wings [^Lcherubim; ^Cpowerful angelic creatures]. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark [^Lof the covenant of God].

⁵ When the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] ·with [or of] the Lord came into the camp, all the Israelites ·gave a great shout of joy [shouted with a great shout] that made the ground shake. ⁶ When the Philistines heard Israel’s shout, they asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”

Then the Philistines ·found out [realized; understood] that the Ark of the Lord had come into the Hebrew camp. ⁷ They were afraid and said, “·A god [or The gods; or God] has come into the Hebrew camp! ·We’re in trouble [^LWoe to us; Disaster]! This has never happened before! ⁸ ·How terrible it will be for [^LWoe to] us! Who can ·save [rescue; deliver] us from these powerful gods? ·They are the ones [These are the gods] who ·struck [^Tsmote] the Egyptians with ·all kinds of disasters [plagues] in the ·desert [wilderness; Ex. 7–12]. ⁹ Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men! In the past they were ·our [your] slaves. So fight like men, or ·we [you] will become their slaves.”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought hard and defeated the Israelites, and every ·Israelite soldier ran away to his own home [man fled to his tent]. It was a great ·defeat [slaughter] for Israel, because thirty thousand Israelite [foot] soldiers ·were killed [^Lfell]. ¹¹ The Ark of God was ·taken [captured] by the Philistines, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹² That same day a man ·from the tribe of [^Lof] Benjamin ran from the battle. He tore his clothes and put dust on his head [^Cto indicate mourning]. ¹³ When he arrived in Shiloh [1:3], Eli was by the side of the road. He was sitting there in a chair, watching [^Leagerly; anxiously], because ·he was worried about [^Lhis heart trembled/feared for] the Ark of God. When the Benjaminite entered Shiloh [1:3], he told ·the bad news [what had happened]. Then all the ·people in town [city; towns] cried loudly. ¹⁴ Eli heard the crying and asked, “What’s all this ·noise [commotion]?”

The Benjaminite ran to Eli and told him what had happened. ¹⁵ Eli was now ninety-eight years old, and ·he was blind [^Lhis gaze was fixed, so he could not see] . ¹⁶ The Benjaminite told him, “I have come from the battle. I ·ran all the way here [escaped/fled from the battle line] today.”

Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

¹⁷ The ·Benjaminite [^Lmessenger] answered, “Israel ·ran away [fled] from the Philistines, and the ·Israelite army has lost many soldiers [people/troops have been slaughtered]. Your two sons are both dead, and the Philistines have ·taken [captured] the Ark of God.”

¹⁸ When he mentioned the Ark of God [4:3], Eli fell backward off his chair. He fell beside the gate, broke his neck, and died, because he was old and ·fat [heavy]. He had ·led [judged; been judge of] Israel for forty years.

The Glory Is Gone

¹⁹ Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and was about to give birth. When she heard the news that the Ark of God had been taken and that Eli, her father-in-law, and Phinehas, her husband, were both dead, she ·began to give [went into labor/crouched down and gave] birth to her child. The child was born, but ·the mother had much trouble in giving birth [her labor pains overwhelmed her]. ²⁰ As she was dying, the women who helped her said, “Don’t ·worry [be afraid]! You’ve given birth to a son!” But she did not answer or pay attention. ²¹ She named the baby Ichabod [^Cmeaning “No Glory”], saying, “Israel’s glory ·is gone [has departed].” She said this because the Ark of God had been ·taken [captured] and her father-in-law and husband were dead. ²² She said, “Israel’s glory is ·gone [departed], because the Ark of God has been ·taken away [captured].”

Trouble for the Philistines

5 After the Philistines [4:1] had captured the Ark of God [4:3], they took it from Ebenezer [4:1] to Ashdod [^Cone of the five chief cities of the Philistines]. ² They carried it into Dagon’s [^Ca major Philistine god, perhaps a storm god] temple and put it next to Dagon [^Cto symbolize that Israel’s god was now on the side of Dagon]. ³ When the people of Ashdod rose early the next morning, they found that Dagon had fallen on his face on the ground before the Ark of the Lord [^Cas if in worship]. So they put Dagon back in his place. ⁴ The next morning when they rose, they again found Dagon fallen face-down on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. His head and hands had broken off and were lying ·in the doorway [on the threshold; ^Cthe treatment given corpses of enemy soldiers]. Only his ·body [trunk] was ·still in one piece [intact; left to him]. ⁵ So, ·even today [to this day], Dagon’s priests and others who enter his temple at Ashdod refuse to step on the ·doorsill [threshold of Dagon].

⁶ The ·Lord was hard [^Lhand of the Lord was heavy] on the people of Ashdod and ·their neighbors [its environs]. He ·caused them to suffer [ravaged/terrified them] and ·gave them [struck/afflicted them with] ·growths on their skin [tumors; or hemorrhoids]. ⁷ When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The Ark of the God of Israel can’t stay with us. ·God is punishing [^LHis hand is heavy on] us and Dagon our god.” ⁸ The people of Ashdod called all five Philistine ·kings [rulers] together and asked them, “What should we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?”

The rulers answered, “Move the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath [^Canother major city of the Philistines to the southeast of Ashdod].” So the Philistines moved it to Gath.

⁹ But after they moved it to Gath, there was a great panic. The ·Lord was hard [^Lhand of the Lord was heavy] on that city also, and he ·gave [struck; afflicted] both old and young people in Gath ·growths on their skin [with an outbreak of tumors/or hemorrhoids]. ¹⁰ Then the Philistines sent the Ark of God to Ekron [^Ca third major city of the Philistines north of Gath].

But when it came into Ekron, the people of Ekron ·yelled [cried out], “Why are you bringing the Ark of the God of Israel to our city? Do you want to kill us and our people?” ¹¹ So they called all the ·kings [rulers] of the Philistines together and said, “Send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own place ·before it kills [or it will kill] us and our people!” All the people in the city were struck with ·terror [deadly panic] because ·God was so hard [^LGod’s hand was so heavy] on them there. ¹² The people who did not die were ·troubled [struck; afflicted] with ·growths on their skin [tumors; or hemorrhoids]. So the people of Ekron ·cried [wailed] loudly to heaven.