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14 When Eli heard the outcry,[a] he said, “What’s this commotion?”[b] The man quickly came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead;[c] he was unable to see.

16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!” Eli[d] asked, “How did things go, my son?” 17 The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from[e] the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”

18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli[f] fell backward from his chair beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he[g] was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 4:14 tn Heb “the sound of the cry.”
  2. 1 Samuel 4:14 tn Heb “the sound of this commotion.”
  3. 1 Samuel 4:15 tn Heb “were set” or “were fixed,” i.e., without vision.
  4. 1 Samuel 4:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. 1 Samuel 4:17 tn Heb “before.”
  6. 1 Samuel 4:18 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  7. 1 Samuel 4:18 tn Heb “the man.”