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The First Book of Samuel, starting at chapter 4
{4:1} The word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out
against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer: and
the Philistines encamped in Aphek. {4:2} The Philistines put
themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle,
Israel was struck before the Philistines; and they killed of the army
in the field about four thousand men. {4:3} When the people had come
into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD struck us
today before the Philistines? Let us get the ark of the covenant of
the LORD out of Shiloh to us, that it may come among us, and save us
out of the hand of our enemies."
{4:4} So the people sent to Shiloh; and they brought from there the
ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts, who sits above the cherubim:
and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark
of the covenant of God. {4:5} When the ark of the covenant of the LORD
came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the
earth rang again. {4:6} When the Philistines heard the noise of the
shout, they said, "What does the noise of this great shout in the camp
of the Hebrews mean?" They understood that the ark of the LORD had
come into the camp. {4:7} The Philistines were afraid, for they said,
"God has come into the camp." They said, "Woe to us! For there has not
been such a thing before. {4:8} Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of
the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the
Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. {4:9} Be
strong, and behave like men, O you Philistines, that you not be
servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Strengthen
yourselves like men, and fight!" {4:10} The Philistines fought, and
Israel was struck, and they fled every man to his tent: and there was
a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand
footmen. {4:11} The ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli,
Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. {4:12} There ran a man of Benjamin
out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes
torn, and with earth on his head. {4:13} When he came, behold, Eli was
sitting on his seat by the road watching; for his heart trembled for
the ark of God. When the man came into the city, and told it, all the
city cried out. {4:14} When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he
said, "What does the noise of this tumult mean?"
The man hurried, and came and told Eli. {4:15} Now Eli was
ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, so that he could not
see. {4:16} The man said to Eli, "I am he who came out of the army,
and I fled today out of the army."
He said, "How did the matter go, my son?"
{4:17} He who brought the news answered, "Israel has fled before the
Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the
people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark
of God has been captured."
{4:18} It happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli
fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck
broke, and he died; for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged
Israel forty years.
{4:19} His daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to
be delivered. When she heard the news that the ark of God was taken,
and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed
herself and gave birth; for her pains came on her. {4:20} About the
time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, "Don't be
afraid; for you have given birth to a son." But she didn't answer,
neither did she regard it. {4:21} She named the child [1>]Ichabod,[<1]
saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"; because the ark of God
was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. {4:22}
She said, "The glory has departed from Israel; for the ark of God is
taken."
{5:1} Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought
it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. {5:2} The Philistines took the ark of God,
and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. {5:3}
When they of Ashdod arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon was
fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. They took
Dagon, and set him in his place again. {5:4} When they arose early on
the next day morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on his face to the
ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the
palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold. Only Dagon's torso
was intact. {5:5} Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any who
come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, to
this day. {5:6} But the hand of the LORD was heavy on them of Ashdod,
and he destroyed them, and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and
its borders.
{5:7} When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, "The ark
of the God of Israel shall not stay with us; for his hand is severe on
us, and on Dagon our god." {5:8} They sent therefore and gathered all
the lords of the Philistines to them, and said, "What shall we do with
the ark of the God of Israel?"
They answered, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried over to
Gath." They carried the ark of the God of Israel there. {5:9} It was
so, that after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was
against the city with a very great confusion: and he struck the men of
the city, both small and great; and tumors broke out on them. {5:10}
So they sent the ark of God to Ekron.
It happened, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites
cried out, saying, "They have brought about the ark of the God of
Israel to us, to kill us and our people." {5:11} They sent therefore
and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and they said,
"Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its
own place, that it not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly
confusion throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy
there. {5:12} The men who didn't die were struck with the tumors; and
the cry of the city went up to heaven.
{6:1} The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines
seven months. {6:2} The Philistines called for the priests and the
diviners, saying, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Show us
with which we shall send it to its place."
{6:3} They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel,
don't send it empty; but by all means return him a trespass offering:
then you shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is
not removed from you."
{6:4} Then they said, "What shall be the trespass offering which we
shall return to him?"
They said, "Five golden tumors, and five golden mice, for the number
of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on
your lords. {6:5} Therefore you shall make images of your tumors, and
images of your mice that mar the land; and you shall give glory to the
God of Israel: perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you, and from
off your gods, and from off your land. {6:6} Why then do you harden
your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When
he had worked wonderfully among them, didn't they let the people go,
and they departed?
{6:7} "Now therefore take and prepare yourselves a new cart, and two
milk cows, on which there has come no yoke; and tie the cows to the
cart, and bring their calves home from them; {6:8} and take the ark of
the LORD, and lay it on the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which
you return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by its side; and
send it away, that it may go. {6:9} Behold; if it goes up by the way
of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has done us this great
evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that
struck us; it was a chance that happened to us."
{6:10} The men did so, and took two milk cows, and tied them to the
cart, and shut up their calves at home; {6:11} and they put the ark of
the LORD on the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the
images of their tumors. {6:12} The cows took the straight way by the
way to Beth Shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went,
and didn't turn aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords
of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.
{6:13} They of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the
valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced
to see it. {6:14} The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth
Shemesh, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they
split the wood of the cart, and offered up the cows for a burnt
offering to the LORD. {6:15} The Levites took down the ark of the
LORD, and the coffer that was with it, in which the jewels of gold
were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth Shemesh
offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to the
LORD. {6:16} When the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they
returned to Ekron the same day. {6:17} These are the golden tumors
which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering to the LORD:
for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for
Ekron one; {6:18} and the golden mice, according to the number of all
the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of
fortified cities and of country villages, even to the great stone,
whereon they set down the ark of the LORD. That stone remains to this
day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. {6:19} He struck of the
men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD,
he struck of the people fifty thousand seventy men; and the people
mourned, because the LORD had struck the people with a great
slaughter. {6:20} The men of Beth Shemesh said, "Who is able to stand
before the LORD, this holy God? To whom shall he go up from us?"
{6:21} They sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim,
saying, "The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD; come
down, and bring it up to yourselves."
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Footnotes:
[1] {4:21} "Ichabod" means "no glory."
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