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1 Samuel 4
And 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. 2 And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was defeated before the Philistines; and they killed of the army in the field about four thousand men. 3 And when the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has Yahweh beaten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of Yahweh out of Shiloh to us, that it may come among us, and save us out of the hand of our enemies. 4 So the people sent to Shiloh; and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh 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 Elohim.
5 And when the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 6 And 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? And they understood that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, Elohim has come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! For there has not been such a thing before this time. 8 Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty elohim? These are the elohim that struck the Egyptians with all manner of plagues in the wilderness. 9 Be strong, and act like men, O you Philistines, that you do not become servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you: be like men, and fight. 10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled every man to his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 11 And the ark of Elohim was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
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 on his head. 13 And when he came, lo, Eli was sitting on his seat by the wayside watching; for his heart trembled for the ark of Elohim. 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 does the noise of this tumult mean? And the man hurried, and came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; and his eyes were set, so that he could not see. 16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. And he said, How did the matter go, my son? 17 And he that brought the tidings 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 Elohim is taken. 18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of Elohim, 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. And he had judged Israel forty years.
19 And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, about to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of Elohim was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and brought forth; for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said to her, Fear not; for you have brought forth a son. But she did not answer, neither did she regard it. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory has departed from Israel; because the ark of Elohim was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, The glory has departed from Israel; for the ark of Elohim has been taken.
1 Samuel 5
Now the Philistines had taken the ark of Elohim, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 And the Philistines took the ark of Elohim, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. 3 And when they of Ashdod rose early on the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. 4 And when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of Yahweh; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off on the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. 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 Yahweh was heavy on them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and the borders of it.
7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the Elohim of Israel shall not remain with us; for his hand is heavy on us, and on Dagon our elohim. 8 They sent therefore and gathered all the rulers of the Philistines to themselves, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the Elohim of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the Elohim of Israel be carried about to Gath. And they carried the ark of the Elohim of Israel there. 9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of Yahweh was against the city with a very great destruction: and he afflicted the men of the city, both small and great; and tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of Elohim to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of Elohim came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, they have brought about the ark of the Elohim of Israel to us, to kill us and our people. 11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the rulers of the Philistines, and they said, Send away the ark of the Elohim of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it does not kill us, and our people. For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of Elohim was very heavy there. 12 And the men that did not die were afflicted with the tumors; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
1 Samuel 6
And the ark of Yahweh was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of Yahweh? show us with which we shall send it to its place. 3 And they said, If you send away the ark of the Elohim of Israel, do not 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. 4 Then they said, What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumors, and five golden mice, according to the number of the rulers of Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your rulers. 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 Elohim of Israel: perhaps he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your elohim, and from off your land. 6 Why do you harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 7 Now therefore take and prepare 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; 8 and take the ark of Yahweh, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which you return him for a trespass-offering, in a coffer by the side of it; and send it away, that it may go. 9 And see; 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.
10 And the men did so, and took two milk cows, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home; 11 and they put the ark of Yahweh upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their tumors. 12 And the cows took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the rulers of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh. 13 And 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. 14 And the cart came into the field of Yahshua the Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they chopped up the wood of the cart, and offered up the cows for a burnt-offering to Yahweh. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of Yahweh, 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 Yahweh. 16 And when the five rulers of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 And these are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering to Yahweh: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18 and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five rulers, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even to the great stone, on which they set down the ark of Yahweh, which stone remains to this day in the field of Yahshua the Beth-shemite.
19 And he struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of Yahweh, he struck of the people fifty thousand and seventy men; and the people mourned, because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter. 20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy Elohim? And to whom shall he go up from us? 21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the ark of Yahweh; come down, and fetch it up to you.
