1 Samuel 4 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

And Samuel's message reached all of Israel. Israel went out to fight against the Philistines and camped near Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek.

The Philistines lined up for battle against Israel, and as the fighting spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines. About four thousand men were killed on the battlefield.

When the troops returned to camp, the leaders of Israel asked, "Why did Yahweh let the Philistines defeat us today? Let's bring the chest of Yahweh's agreement from Shiloh — let it come among us and rescue us from the grip of our enemies."

So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the chest of the agreement of Yahweh of Armies, who sits enthroned between the winged guardians. And Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the chest of God's agreement.

When the chest of Yahweh's agreement arrived at the camp, all of Israel let out such a massive shout that the ground shook.

When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they asked, "What's all this loud shouting in the Hebrew camp?" Then they found out that the chest of Yahweh had arrived at the camp.

The Philistines were terrified. "A god has come into their camp!" they said. Then they groaned, "We're in trouble now! Nothing like this has ever happened before."

"We're in trouble now!" they moaned. "Who can rescue us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the same gods who struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the wilderness!"

"Be strong! Act like men, Philistines! Otherwise you'll end up serving the Hebrews the way they've served you. Man up and fight!"

So the Philistines fought, and Israel was crushed. Every man fled to his own home. The slaughter was devastating — thirty thousand of Israel's foot soldiers fell.

The chest of God was captured, and Eli's two sons — Hophni and Phinehas — were killed.

A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle line and reached Shiloh that same day, his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his chair beside the road, watching, because his heart was trembling with fear for the chest of God. The man came into town and told the news, and the entire town cried out in anguish.

When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he asked, "What's all this commotion?" The man hurried over and told Eli.

Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were set so that he could not see.

The man said to Eli, "I'm the one who came from the battle — I just fled from the battle line today." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?"

The messenger answered, "Israel fled from the Philistines, and there was also a massive slaughter among the troops. And your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas — they're dead. And the chest of God has been captured."

The moment he mentioned the chest of God, Eli fell backward off his chair beside the gate. His neck broke and he died, because the man was old and heavy. He had led Israel for forty years.

His daughter-in-law, Phinehas's wife, was pregnant and near her due date. When she heard the news that the chest of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she collapsed and gave birth, because her labor pains suddenly hit her.

As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Don't be afraid — you've given birth to a son!" But she didn't respond or pay any attention.

She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has left Israel" — because the chest of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

She said, "The glory has left Israel, because the chest of God has been captured."