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1 Samuel 4:1-3
New King James Version
1 Samuel 4:1-3
New King James Version
The Death of Eli
4 And the word of Samuel came to all [a]Israel.
The Ark of God Captured
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside (A)Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 2 Then the (B)Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was [b]defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. 3 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? (C)Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.”
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- 1 Samuel 4:1 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. add And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight; LXX adds further against Israel
- 1 Samuel 4:2 Lit. struck
1 Samuel 4:1-3
New International Version
1 Samuel 4:1-3
New International Version
4 And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.
The Philistines Capture the Ark
Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer,(A) and the Philistines at Aphek.(B) 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. 3 When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why(C) did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark(D) of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh,(E) so that he may go with us(F) and save us from the hand of our enemies.”
1 Samuel 4:1-3
English Standard Version
1 Samuel 4:1-3
English Standard Version
The Philistines Capture the Ark
4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at (A)Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at (B)Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here (C)from Shiloh, that it[a] may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”
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- 1 Samuel 4:3 Or he
1 Samuel 4:1-3
New American Standard Bible
1 Samuel 4:1-3
New American Standard Bible
Philistines Take the Ark in Victory
4 So the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and they camped beside (A)Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped in (B)Aphek. 2 Then the Philistines drew up in battle formation to meet Israel. When the battle [a]spread, Israel was [b]defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3 When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “(C)Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? (D)Let’s take the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, so that He may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 4:2 Or was over
- 1 Samuel 4:2 Lit struck before
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.