1 Samuel 4:4-11

4So the people sent men to Shiloh and they brought back the Lord's Covenant Box. That is where the Lord Almighty sits between the cherubs. Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also came with God's Covenant Box.

5The men brought the Lord's Covenant Box into the place where the soldiers' tents were. When the Israelites saw it, they shouted so loudly that the ground shook.

6The Philistines heard the loud noise. They asked each other, ‘What is happening there among the Hebrew people's army?’ Then they realized that the Lord's Covenant Box had arrived there.

7They were afraid and they said, ‘Their gods have come to help them fight! We are in bad trouble. Nothing like this has happened to us before.

8This is terrible! Nobody can save us from those powerful gods. Those gods punished the Egyptians with many bad diseases in the desert.

9Philistine soldiers, you must be brave! You must fight as strong men! If not, we will become slaves of these Hebrew people, as they were once our slaves. So be ready to fight bravely!’

10So the Philistines did fight strongly and they won again. They killed 30,000 Israelite soldiers in the battle. The other Israelite soldiers all ran home.

11The Philistines took God's Covenant Box for themselves. Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also died.