1 Samuel 4

¹Now the Philistines brought all their forces together at Aphek, while Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.

¹²Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

¹After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,

¹⁸the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;

³⁰The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.

⁵³Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah,

⁴⁰Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the Lord.

⁹But You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies.

¹⁰You have made us retreat from the foe, and those who hate us have plundered us.

¹²This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.

⁸And Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and array yourselves for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me.

⁵And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

⁶Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the Lord until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.

⁴⁰So the anger of the Lord burned against His people, and He abhorred His own inheritance.

⁴¹He delivered them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them.

⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

³⁵Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say, “Rise up, O Lord! May Your enemies be scattered; may those who hate You flee before You.”

⁶And Moses sent the thousand from each tribe into battle, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took with him the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.

¹I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and that they all passed through the sea.

²They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

²⁵Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again.

⁹And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

¹⁰The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

²And he and all his troops set out for Baale of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name—the name of the Lord of Hosts, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on it.

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

⁸⁹When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the mercy seat on the ark of the Testimony. Thus the Lord spoke to him.

¹The Lord reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake!

¹⁵And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

⁹“But ask now for God’s favor. Will He be gracious? Since this has come from your hands, will He show you favor?” asks the Lord of Hosts.

⁵And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all your people will charge straight into the city.”

⁵the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?

⁴Do not trust in deceptive words, saying: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

²⁰So when the rams’ horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. Then all the people charged straight into the city and captured it.

¹⁴When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands.

³You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.

¹⁷When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “The sound of war is in the camp.”

¹⁸But Moses replied: “It is neither the cry of victory nor the cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing!”

¹⁴The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia.

¹⁵Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,

²⁵He caused their chariot wheels to wobble, so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”

³⁰How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?

⁴³when He performed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.

⁴⁴He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.

⁵And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”

¹⁴Otherwise, I will send all My plagues against you and your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.

¹³Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.

¹Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.

¹²Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and for the cities of our God. May the Lord do what is good in His sight.”

¹Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.

⁷So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites,

²The Philistines arrayed themselves against Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield.

¹²And Judah was routed before Israel, and every man fled to his home.

²⁵The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

¹⁷And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.

⁶⁰He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.

⁶¹He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.

¹⁷They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.

³⁴And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.

⁶⁴His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.

¹¹Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.

³²You will see distress in My dwelling place. Despite all that is good in Israel, no one in your house will ever again reach old age.

⁶⁰He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.

⁶¹He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.

⁶Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the Lord until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.

³²When David came to the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head.

²On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.

¹On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.

¹²When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head.

¹⁹And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her robe. And putting her hand on her head, she went away crying aloud.

⁹So after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.

¹⁸As soon as the ark of God was mentioned, Eli fell backward from his chair by the city gate, and being old and heavy, he broke his neck and died. And Eli had judged Israel forty years.

¹A Psalm of Asaph. The nations, O God, have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.

²They have given the corpses of Your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.

⁸O Lord, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.

³And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

⁴When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

⁴How can we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.

²And at that time Eli, whose eyesight had grown so dim that he could not see, was lying in his room.

¹⁰The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

¹When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied.

⁴Jeroboam’s wife did as instructed; she arose and went to Shiloh and arrived at Ahijah’s house. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age.

⁴“What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.” “The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”

¹⁹So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

⁶Once again the Lord called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “My son, I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.”

¹¹Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle.

¹⁰So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great—thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.

¹¹The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

²¹And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed.

²²“The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “for the ark of God has been captured.”

¹⁷For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?

¹⁸And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

⁹because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.

¹³When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out.

¹⁵All who pass by clap their hands at you in scorn. They hiss and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?”

¹⁶All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth, saying, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day for which we have waited. We have lived to see it!”

³My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”

²In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.

²¹A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.

¹⁷During her severe labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you are having another son.”

¹⁸And with her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni. But his father called him Benjamin.

⁸O Lord, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.

⁶¹He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.

¹¹Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols.

⁶⁴His priests fell by the sword, but their widows could not lament.

¹²Even if they raise their children, I will bereave them of each one. Yes, woe be to them when I turn away from them!

¹¹The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹⁷His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand cease to function.

⁶May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy!