1 Samuel 4:17

17 The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

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1 Samuel 4:17 in Other Translations

KJV

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.

ESV

17 He who brought the news answered and said, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured."

NLT

17 “Israel has been defeated by the Philistines,” the messenger replied. “The people have been slaughtered, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. And the Ark of God has been captured.”

MSG

17 The messenger answered, "Israel scattered before the Philistines. The defeat was catastrophic, with enormous losses. Your sons Hophni and Phinehas died, and the Chest of God was taken."

CSB

17 The messenger answered, "Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured."

1 Samuel 4:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 4:17

And the messenger answered and said
He delivered his account gradually, beginning with generals, and then proceeding to particulars, and with what he thought Eli could better bear the news of, and so prepared him for the worst; in which he acted a wise part:

Israel is fled before the Philistines;
they have given way and retreated, and which might possibly be done without great loss, and which, though it was bad news, might not be so very bad:

and there hath also been a great slaughter among the people;
this is worse news still; however, the number of the slain is not given, nor any mention of particular persons that were killed: so that, for any thing yet said, his own sons might be safe: but then it follows,

and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead;
the news of which must be very affecting to him, and strike him closely; though he might expect and be prepared for it by what both the man of God and Samuel from the Lord had related to him:

and the ark of God is taken;
the thing he feared, and his heart trembled before for it; this was the closing and cutting part of the account; the messenger foresaw that this would the most affect him, and therefore referred it to the last.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

1 Samuel 4:17 In-Context

15 who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see.

16 He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.” Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led Israel forty years.

19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains.

Cross References 2

1. 1 Samuel 22:18; Psalms 78:64
2. Psalms 78:61

1 Samuel 4:17

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1 Samuel 4:17 in Other Translations

1 Samuel 4:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 4:17 In-Context

Cross References 2