1And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and they encamped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines encamped at Aphek.
2And the Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel, and the battle spread, and Israel was defeated before the Philistines; they struck down in the battle line, in the field, about four thousand men.
3And the people came to the camp, and the elders of Israel said, “Why has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, that it may come into our midst and save us from the hand of our enemies.”
4So the people sent to Shiloh, and they carried from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim; and there, with the ark of the covenant of God, were the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas.
5And when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded.
6And the Philistines heard the sound of the shout and said, “What is this sound of a great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” Then they knew that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp.
7And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp,” and they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened yesterday or the day before.”
8“Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the wilderness.”
9“Take courage and be men, O Philistines, lest you serve the Hebrews as they have served you. Be men and fight!”
10So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tents; and the slaughter was very great, and thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
11And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
12And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that same day, with his clothes torn and earth on his head.
13And he came, and behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road, watching, for his heart was trembling over the ark of God. And the man came to bring the news into the city, and all the city cried out.
14And Eli heard the sound of the outcry and said, “What is this sound of tumult?” And the man hurried and came and told Eli.
15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.
16And the man said to Eli, “I am the one who has come from the battle line; I fled from the battle line today.” And he said, “What has happened, my son?”
17And the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
18And it happened that when he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the seat, beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
19Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the report that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she crouched down and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her.
20And at the time of her death, the women standing over her spoke: “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she take it to heart.
21And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” — because the ark of God had been captured, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
22And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
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