1 Samuel 4:14-18

Evangelical Heritage Version

¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise of the uproar, he said, “What does this noisy commotion mean?”

The man came quickly and told Eli what had happened. ¹⁵ Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes stared straight ahead^[a] because he could not see. ¹⁶ The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battlefield. Today I fled from the battlefield.”

Eli said, “What was the outcome, my son?”

¹⁷ The man who brought the news answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people. In addition, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and God’s ark has been captured.”

¹⁸ When the man mentioned God’s ark, Eli fell backwards off his seat, which was by the city gate. He broke his neck, and he died, because he was an old man, and he was overweight. He had judged Israel^[b] for forty years.