King James Version

1 And the word of Samuel was to all Israel, and Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle and they camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2 And the Philistines arranged themselves to meet Israel, and the battle was joined, and Israel was defeated before the Philistines, and they struck down in the battlefield about four thousand men. 3 And the people came to the camp, and the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring to us from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and it will come among us and save us from the hand of our enemies." 4 And the people sent to Shiloh and they took from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Hosts who dwells among the cherubim, and there were two sons of Eli with the Ark of the Covenant of God, Hophni and Phinehas. 5 And it came to pass, when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, that all Israel shouted with a great shout, and the earth trembled. 6 And the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, and they said, "What is this sound of the great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?" And they knew that the Ark of the LORD had come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines saw that God had come into the camp, and they said, "Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened yesterday or the day before." 8 Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who strike Egypt with every plague in the wilderness. 9 Be strong and be men, O Philistines, lest you serve the Hebrews as they have served you; be men and fight. 10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tents. And there was a very great slaughter, and thirty thousand foot soldiers fell from Israel. 11 And the Ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. 12 And a man from Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh on that day, and his clothes were torn and earth was on his head. 13 And he came, and behold, Eli was seated on the chair by the way, for his heart was trembling for the ark of God, and the man came to tell in the city, and all the city cried out. 14 And Eli heard the sound of the cry and said, “What is the sound of this uproar?” And the man hurried and came and told Eli. 15 And Eli was eighty-two years old, and his eyes were dim so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, "I am the one who came from the battle, and I fled from the battle today." And he said, "What happened, my son?" 17 And the messenger answered and said, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken." 18 And it happened that as he mentioned the ark of God, he fell from the back of the chair by the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died because the man was old and heavy, and he judged Israel forty years. 19 And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and heard the report that the Ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, and she bowed down and gave birth because her pains had come upon her. 20 And at the time of her death, the midwives said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son," and she did not answer and did not give her heart. 21 And she called to the young man, saying, "Glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been taken, and for her father-in-law and her husband." 22 And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel because the ark of God has been taken."