of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who dwelleth between the cherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth shook.
6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp.
7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God hath come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! for there hath not been such a thing before. [1]
8 Woe to us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.
9 Be strong, and acquit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye may not be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you: acquit yourselves like men, and fight. [2]
10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. [3]
12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn, and with earth upon his head.
13 And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the way side watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.
14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli.
15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. [4]
16 And the man said to Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? [5]
17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
19 And his daughter in law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. [6] [7]
20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said to her, Fear not; for thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it . [8]
21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory hath departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. [9]
22 And she said, The glory hath departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.
CHAP. 5.
1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.
2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.
3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
4 And when they arose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon 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 upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. [10]
5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with haemorrhoids, even Ashdod and its land.
7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is heavy upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
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? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about to Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel there .
9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it there, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had haemorrhoids in their secret parts.
10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, 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 slay us and our people. [11]
11
- ↑ heretofore: Heb. yesterday, or, the third day
- ↑ quit...: Heb. be men
- ↑ were slain: Heb. died
- ↑ were dim: Heb. stood
- ↑ is...: Heb. is the thing
- ↑ be delivered: or, cry out
- ↑ came: Heb. were turned
- ↑ neither...: Heb. set not her heart
- ↑ Ichabod: that is, Where is the glory? or, There is no glory
- ↑ the stump...: or, the fishy part
- ↑ us, to...: Heb. me to slay me and my
