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The Blue Letter Bible

1 Samuel 4 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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The Philistines Capture the Ark

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:1 - And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel.[fn] At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israelite army was camped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines were at Aphek.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:2 - The Philistines attacked and defeated the army of Israel, killing 4,000 men.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:3 - After the battle was over, the troops retreated to their camp, and the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the LORD allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?” Then they said, “Let’s bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with us, it[fn] will save us from our enemies.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:4 - So they sent men to Shiloh to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also 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 all the Israelites saw the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD coming into the camp, their shout of joy was so loud it made the ground shake!

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:6 - “What’s going on?” the Philistines asked. “What’s all the shouting about in the Hebrew camp?” When they were told it was because the Ark of the LORD had arrived,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:7 - they panicked. “The gods have[fn] come into their camp!” they cried. “This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before!

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:8 - Help! Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:9 - Fight as never before, Philistines! If you don’t, we will become the Hebrews’ slaves just as they have been ours! Stand up like men and fight!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:10 - So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; 30,000 Israelite soldiers died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:11 - The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.
The Death of Eli

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:12 - A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and arrived at Shiloh later that same day. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head to show his grief.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:13 - Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an outcry resounded throughout the town.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:14 - “What is all the noise about?” Eli asked.
The messenger rushed 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 blind.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:16 - He said to Eli, “I have just come from the battlefield—I was there this very day.”
“What happened, my son?” Eli demanded.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:17 - “Israel has been defeated by the Philistines,” the messenger replied. “The people have been slaughtered, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. And the Ark of God has been captured.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:18 - When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel’s judge for forty years.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:19 - Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:20 - She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. “Don’t be afraid,” they said. “You have a baby boy!” But she did not answer or pay attention to them.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:21 - She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 4:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 4:22 - Then she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
In print editions of the NLT, this sentence is set at the end of 3:21.
Or he.
Or A god has.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

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

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1 Samuel Chapter 4 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version 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