3.
Knowing the misfortune of the Ark of God under the superstition of the degraded and rotten Aaronic priesthood
4:1—7:2
1 Sam. 4
:1
4:1
And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. And Israel went forth against the Philistines in battle; and they encamped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
1 Sam. 4
:2
4:2
And the Philistines arrayed themselves against Israel; and when the battle spread, Israel was struck down before the Philistines. And they slew about four thousand men of the array in the field.
1 Sam. 4
:3
4:3
And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has Jehovah struck us down today before the Philistines? Let us take for ourselves the
1aArk of the Covenant of Jehovah from
bShiloh that it may come into our midst, and
thus save us from the hand of our enemies.
1 Sam. 4
:4
4:4
So the people sent
men to Shiloh, and they took up from there the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah of hosts who is enthroned
between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God.
1 Sam. 4
:5
4:5
And when the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, and the earth resounded.
1 Sam. 4
:6
4:6
And the Philistines heard the sound of the shout and said, What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean? Then they found out that the Ark of Jehovah had come into their camp.
1 Sam. 4
:7
4:7
And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God has come into their camp. And they said, Woe to us! For there has never been such a thing as this before.
1 Sam. 4
:8
4:8
Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that
astruck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the wilderness.
1 Sam. 4
:9
4:9
Be strong and be men, O Philistines, lest you become servants to the Hebrews as they have been servants to you. Be men then and fight.
1 Sam. 4
:10
4:10
And the Philistines fought, and they struck Israel; and every man fled to his tent. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
1 Sam. 4
:11
4:11
And the
aArk of God was
1taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,
bdied.
1 Sam. 4
:12
4:12
And a man of Benjamin ran from the array and came to Shiloh on the same day, with his clothes torn and earth upon his head.
1 Sam. 4
:13
4:13
And when he came, there was Eli, sitting on his seat by the roadside watching; for his heart trembled for the Ark of God. And when the man came to tell
the news to the city, the whole city cried out.
1 Sam. 4
:14
4:14
And when Eli heard the sound of the cry, he said, What does this sound of commotion mean? And the man hurried and came and told Eli.
1 Sam. 4
:15
4:15
Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were
aset, and he could not see.
1 Sam. 4
:16
4:16
And the man said to Eli, I am he who has come from the array, and I fled from the array today. And he said, How did the matter go, my son?
1 Sam. 4
:17
4:17
And he who brought the news answered and said, Israel fled before the Philistines, and there was a great slaughter among the people; and even your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the Ark of God has been taken.
1 Sam. 4
:18
4:18
And when he mentioned the Ark of God,
1Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate. And he broke his neck and
2died, for he was an old man and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
1 Sam. 4
:19
4:19
And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to deliver; and when she heard the report that the Ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she bowed down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.
1 Sam. 4
:20
4:20
And around the time that she died, the women who stood around her said, Do not fear, for you have borne a son. But she did not answer or pay attention.
1 Sam. 4
:21
4:21
And she named the child
1Ichabod,
2meaning, The glory has departed from Israel, because the Ark of God had been taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
1 Sam. 4
:22
4:22
And she said, The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been taken.
