¹³ And he came, and behold, ^(A)Eli was sitting on his seat ^[a]by the road eagerly watching because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. Now the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. ¹⁴ Then Eli heard the noise of the outcry, and he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” So the man came hurriedly and told Eli.

¹⁶ And the man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I fled from the battle line today.” And he said, “^(A)How did things go, my son?”