1. And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli.
And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there
was no open vision.
2. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in
his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not
see;
3. And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD,
where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
4. That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
5. And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst
me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went
and lay down.
6. And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and
went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me.
And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
7. Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word
of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
8. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he
arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst
call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the
child.
9. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall
be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for
thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his
place.
10. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times,
Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant
heareth.
11. And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in
Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it
shall tingle.
12. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I
have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also
make an end.
13. For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for
the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made
themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
14. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the
iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice
nor offering for ever.
15. And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of
the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the
vision.
16. Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he
answered, Here am I.
17. And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto
thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee,
and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the
things that he said unto thee.
18. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him.
And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him
good.
19. And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none
of his words fall to the ground.
20. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel
was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
21. And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed
himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
Chapter 4
1. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went
out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside
Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.
2. And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel:
and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the
Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about
four thousand men.
3. And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of
Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day
before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant
of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh
among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
4. So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from
thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which
dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli,
Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant
of God.
5. And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the
camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the
earth rang again.
6. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they
said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp
of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD
was come into the camp.
7. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come
into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath
not been such a thing heretofore.
8. Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these
mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians
with all the plagues in the wilderness.
9. Be strong and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines,
that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been
to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.
10. And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they
fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great
slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.
11. And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli,
Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
12. And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to
Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth
upon his head.
13. And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside
watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And
when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city
cried out.
14. And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What
meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in
hastily, and told Eli.
15. Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were
dim, that he could not see.
16. And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the
army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What
is there done, my son?
17. And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before
the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter
among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and
Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
18. And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God,
that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the
gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old
man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
19. And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child,
near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that
the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her
husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her
pains came upon her.
20. And about the time of her death the women that stood by her
said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she
answered not, neither did she regard it.
21. And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is
departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and
because of her father in law and her husband.
22. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark
of God is taken.
