Then the Philistines, the neighbors and old enemies of Israel, began to be troublesome again. The Philistines lived in the long plain by the sea, and the Israelites lived among the hills, and a river ran from the hills into the plain, making a deep valley. Up this valley climbed the Philistines, till they came to a town of the Israelites called Beth-shemesh. And in a field beside the town was a great rock called Ebenezer. And there they had a battle, the Philistines against the Israelites, and the Israelites ran away. And that night the Israelites held a council and said, “What can we do? for the Philistines are mightier than we.” And they said, “Let us go to the church in Shiloh and get the Ark of God. If we have that among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.” For they remembered how when their fathers crossed the Jordan, at the beginning, the Ark was carried at the head of the host; and how it was borne by the priests, with blowing of trumpets, at the siege of Jericho. So they took the Ark out of the Shiloh church, and Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, carried it, one at one end and the other at the other. And when the Ark came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again with the echo of it. “Let God arise,” they cried, “and let his enemies be scattered. Let them also that hate Him flee before Him!” For that was the battle cry of Israel. Now the Philistines in their camp heard the noise of the shout, and they said, “What is the meaning of the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” And they sent men to find out, and the men came back and said, “God is come into the camp! The God of Israel who smote the Egyptians with plagues, and who has won the men of Israel so many victories over their enemies, is in the camp. Woe unto us! Such a thing has never happened since the Philistines became a nation. Woe unto us! Who shall deliver us out of the hands of this mighty God?” And they held a council to determine what to do. It was plain that they must make a choice between two things: either they must run away as soon as they could and as fast as they could, or else they must fight harder than they had ever fought. Of these they chose the second, like brave men. They said one to another, “Be strong, O ye Philistines, and quit yourselves like men, that ye be not servants to the Hebrews as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men and fight.” So the battle came on again, and the Philistines fought like heroes, and the Israelites were beaten worse than ever. They ran like sheep when the wolves are after them. And the Ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.