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The Blue Letter Bible

1 Samuel 4 :: New International Version (NIV)

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:1 - And Samuel’s word came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:2 - The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:3 - When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the LORD bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:4 - So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:5 - When the ark of the LORD’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:6 - Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?” When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:7 - the Philistines were afraid. “A god has[fn] come into the camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:8 - We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:9 - Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:10 - So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:11 - The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Death of Eli

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:12 - That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:13 - When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:14 - Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?” The man hurried over to Eli,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:15 - who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:16 - He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.” Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:17 - The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:18 - When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led[fn] Israel forty years.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:19 - His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:20 - As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:21 - She named the boy Ichabod,[fn] saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:22 - She said, “The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NIV Footnotes
Or “Gods have (see Septuagint)
Traditionally judged
Ichabod means no glory.
NIV

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.


See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.

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1 Samuel Chapter 4 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras