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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>1 Samuel 4 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/1_samuel/4.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/1_samuel/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > 1 Samuel 4</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../1_samuel/3.htm" title="1 Samuel 3">◄</a> 1 Samuel 4 <a href="../1_samuel/5.htm" title="1 Samuel 5">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/1_samuel/4.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">The Philistines Capture the Ark</p><p class="reg">At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israelite army was camped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines were at Aphek. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel.</p> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>The Philistines attacked and defeated the army of Israel, killing 4,000 men. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>After the battle was over, the troops retreated to their camp, and the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the LORD allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?” Then they said, “Let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with us, it<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> will save us from our enemies.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>When all the Israelites saw the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD coming into the camp, their shout of joy was so loud it made the ground shake!</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>“What’s going on?” the Philistines asked. “What’s all the shouting about in the Hebrew camp?” When they were told it was because the Ark of the LORD had arrived, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>they panicked. “The gods have<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a> come into their camp!” they cried. “This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Fight as never before, Philistines! If you don’t, we will become the Hebrews’ slaves just as they have been ours! Stand up like men and fight!”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.</p><p class="hdg">The Death of Eli</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and arrived at Shiloh later that same day. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head to show his grief. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an outcry resounded throughout the town.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>“What is all the noise about?” Eli asked.</p><p class="reg">The messenger rushed over to Eli, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>who was ninety-eight years old and blind. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>He said to Eli, “I have just come from the battlefield—I was there this very day.”</p><p class="reg">“What happened, my son?” Eli demanded.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>“Israel has been defeated by the Philistines,” the messenger replied. “The people have been slaughtered, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. And the Ark of God has been captured.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel’s judge for forty years.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. “Don’t be afraid,” they said. “You have a baby boy!” But she did not answer or pay attention to them.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/4-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>Then she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:3 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">he.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:7 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">A god has.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of <a href="http://www.tyndale.com">Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.</a>, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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