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.
約櫃被擄
1那時，以色列人去迎戰非利士人，他們在以便以謝紮營，非利士人在亞弗紮營。 2非利士人列陣與以色列人交戰，大敗以色列人，殺了他們四千人。 3軍隊回營後，以色列的長老說：「為什麼今天耶和華使我們敗在非利士人手下？我們從示羅把耶和華的約櫃抬來吧，讓它4·3 「它」或作「祂」。與我們同去，好從仇敵手中救我們。」
4於是，他們派人去示羅把那坐在基路伯天使上的萬軍之耶和華的約櫃抬來。以利的兩個兒子何弗尼和非尼哈也隨上帝的約櫃同來。 5以色列人看見耶和華的約櫃到了營中，就高聲歡呼，聲音震天動地。 6非利士人聽見了喊聲就說：「希伯來人在營中喊什麼？」後來他們知道是耶和華的約櫃到了營中， 7就害怕起來，說：「有神明到了他們營中，我們大禍臨頭了，我們從來沒有遇過這種事情！ 8我們大禍臨頭了！誰能從這些大能的神明手中救我們？在曠野用各種災禍毀滅埃及人的就是這些神明。 9非利士人啊，要剛強，做大丈夫。不然，我們就會成為希伯來人的奴隸，像他們做我們的奴隸一樣。我們要做大丈夫，奮力征戰。」
10非利士人和以色列人交戰，以色列人敗下陣來，紛紛逃回家中。他們傷亡慘重，損失了三萬步兵。 11上帝的約櫃被擄走了，以利的兩個兒子何弗尼和非尼哈被殺身亡。
以利之死
12當天有一個便雅憫人逃出了戰場，他撕爛衣服，頭蒙灰塵，來到示羅。 13以利正坐在路旁的座位上觀望，因為他心裡為上帝的約櫃擔憂。那個從戰場回來的人進城報信後，全城的人都放聲大哭。 14以利聽見哭喊聲，就問：「人們為何喊叫？」那人趕忙告訴他。 15那時，以利已經九十八歲，眼睛因為年老而失明。 16報信的人對以利說：「我今天是從戰場逃回來的。」以利問：「我的孩子，情況怎麼樣？」 17報信的答道：「以色列人被非利士人擊潰，傷亡慘重，你的兩個兒子何弗尼及非尼哈都死了，上帝的約櫃也被擄走了。」 18以利年老體胖，聽到約櫃被擄去，就從門邊的座位上向後跌倒，頸斷身亡。他做士師審理以色列人的事務共四十年。
19以利的兒媳婦、非尼哈的妻子當時懷孕在身，接近產期。她聽說上帝的約櫃被擄、公公和丈夫都死了，就突然陣痛，生下了孩子。 20在她彌留之際，身旁的婦人對她說：「不要怕，你生了一個男孩。」但她既不理會，也不回答。 21她給孩子取名叫以迦博，意思是：「榮耀離開以色列了」。這是因為上帝的約櫃被擄走，她的公公和丈夫都死了。 22她說：「榮耀離開了以色列，因為上帝的約櫃已經被擄走了。」
