1På den måde nåede Herrens ord ud til hele Israels folk.
Filistrene tager pagtens ark
Kort efter, at Herren havde åbenbaret sig for Samuel, blev der krig mellem israelitterne og filistrene. Den israelitiske hær slog lejr ved Eben-Ezer, filistrene ved Afek. 2Filistrene gik til angreb, besejrede Israels hær og dræbte 4000 mand. 3Efter slaget vendte israelitterne tilbage til lejren, og folkets ledere holdt møde om krisen: „Hvorfor lod Herren os tabe til filistrene?” „Lad os hente pagtens ark i Shilo,” var der nogen, der foreslog. „Hvis vi tager arken med os i kampen, vil Herren være med os og redde os fra vores fjender.”
4Så sendte de nogle mænd til Shilo for at hente Herren den almægtige Guds Ark, han, som troner mellem keruberne på arkens låg. Elis to sønner, Hofni og Pinehas, var med til at bære arken til lejren. 5I det øjeblik israelitterne så Herrens Pagts Ark komme ind i lejren, jublede de så højt, at jorden rystede. 6„Hvad sker der?” spurgte filistrene hinanden. „Hvorfor jubler de mon ovre i hebræernes lejr?” Da de fik at vide, at Herrens Ark var ankommet, 7-8gik der panik i dem. „Deres guder må være i lejren,” udbrød de. „Hvad skal vi nu gøre? Det er ude med os. Hvem kan hjælpe os i kampen mod deres mægtige guder? De var jo dem, der ramte egypterne med alle slags katastrofer og tilintetgjorde deres hær i ørkenen. 9Vi må tage os sammen, filistre, og kæmpe som aldrig før. Vi skulle nødigt ende som slaver for israelitterne, sådan som de har været slaver for os.” 10Så gik filistrene til angreb, og Israel blev slået igen. Den dag faldt der 30.000 israelitter. De overlevende flygtede hver til sit. 11Herrens Ark blev taget som bytte, og Hofni og Pinehas blev begge dræbt.
12En mand fra Benjamins stamme løb hele vejen fra slagmarken og ankom samme dag til Shilo. I fortvivlelse havde han flænget sit tøj og kommet jord på sit hoved. 13Eli sad på en stol ved byporten og stirrede ud på vejen. Han ventede på nyt, for han var bekymret for Herrens Ark. Da budbringeren ankom til byen og fortalte de første, han mødte, hvad der var sket, gav alle i byen sig til at råbe og skrige. 14-15„Hvad er det for en larm?” spurgte Eli, der nu var 98 år og næsten helt blind. Budbringeren skyndte sig hen til ham. 16„Jeg kommer lige fra slagmarken,” forklarede han. „Det lykkedes mig at flygte med livet i behold.” „Ja, men hvad skete der?” spurgte Eli utålmodigt. „Fortæl! Fortæl!” 17„Israel måtte flygte for filistrene! Vi led store tab! Dine to sønner, Hofni og Pinehas, blev også dræbt, og Herrens Ark blev taget!” 18Da han nævnte Herrens Ark, faldt Eli bagover på sin stol ved byporten og brækkede halsen. Han døde på stedet, for han var en gammel mand og meget overvægtig. Han havde været leder i Israel i 40 år.
19Elis svigerdatter—Pinehas’ kone—var højgravid på det tidspunkt. Da hun hørte, at arken var blevet taget af filistrene, og at hendes mand og hendes svigerfar begge var døde, fik hun voldsomme veer. 20De kvinder, som hjalp hende under fødslen, prøvede at opmuntre hende. „Du har født en dejlig dreng,” sagde de. Det reagerede hun overhovedet ikke på. 21Hun døde under fødslen, men nåede dog at sige: „Kald drengen Ikabod.”4,21 Ikabod betyder „uden herlighed”. Hermed hentydede hun til, hvad der var sket med arken og med hendes mand og svigerfar. 22„Guds herlighed har forladt Israel,” sukkede hun, „for Herrens Ark er blevet taget.”
1And Samuel gave those messages to all the Israelites.
The Philistines Capture the Ark
The Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer. The Philistines camped at Aphek. 2The Philistines brought their forces together to fight against Israel. As the fighting spread, the Israelites lost the battle to the Philistines. The Philistines killed about 4,000 of them on the field of battle. 3The rest of the Israelite soldiers returned to camp. Then the elders asked them, “Why did the Lord let the Philistines win the battle over us today? Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Let’s take it with us. Then the Lord will save us from the power of our enemies.”
4So the people sent men to Shiloh. They brought back the ark of the Lord’s covenant law. He sits there on his throne between the cherubim. The Lord is the one who rules over all. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God’s covenant law. The ark was in Shiloh.
5The ark of the Lord’s covenant law was brought into the camp. Then all the Israelites shouted so loudly that the ground shook. 6The Philistines heard the noise. They asked, “What’s all that shouting about in the Hebrew camp?”
Then the Philistines found out that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 7So they were afraid. “A god has come into their camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has ever happened before. 8How terrible it will be for us! Who will save us from the power of these mighty gods? They struck down the people of Egypt in the desert. They sent all kinds of plagues on them. 9Philistines, be strong! Fight like men! If you don’t, you will come under the control of the Hebrews. You will become their slaves, just as they have been your slaves. Fight like men!”
10So the Philistines fought. The Israelites lost the battle, and every man ran back to his tent. A large number of them were killed. Israel lost 30,000 soldiers who were on foot. 11The ark of God was captured. And Eli’s two sons Hophni and Phinehas died.
Eli Dies
12That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the front lines of the battle. He went to Shiloh. His clothes were torn. He had dust on his head. 13When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair. He was by the side of the road. He was watching because his heart was really concerned about the ark of God. The man entered the town and told everyone what had happened. Then the whole town cried out.
14Eli heard the people crying out. He asked, “What’s the meaning of all this noise?”
The man hurried over to Eli. 15Eli was 98 years old. His eyes were so bad he couldn’t see. 16The man told Eli, “I’ve just come from the front lines of the battle. I just ran away from there today.”
Eli asked, “What happened, son?”
17The man who brought the news replied, “Israel ran away from the Philistines. Large numbers of men in the army were wounded or killed. Your two sons Hophni and Phinehas are also dead. And the ark of God has been captured.”
18When the man spoke about the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair. He had been sitting by the side of the gate. When he fell, he broke his neck and died. He was old and fat. He had led Israel for 40 years.
19The wife of Phinehas was pregnant. She was Eli’s daughter-in-law. It was near the time for her baby to be born. She heard the news that the ark of God had been captured. She heard that her father-in-law and her husband were dead. So she went into labor and had her baby. Her pain was more than she could bear. 20As she was dying, the women helping her spoke up. They said, “Don’t be afraid. You have had a son.” But she didn’t reply. She didn’t pay any attention.
21She named the boy Ichabod. She said, “The God of glory has left Israel.” She said it because the ark of God had been captured. She also said it because her father-in-law and her husband had died. 22She said, “The God of glory has left Israel.” She said it because the ark of God had been captured.
