Eli Dies

¹² On that day^[a] a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn, and dirt was on his head. ¹³ When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair on the lookout^[b] by the side of^[c] the road, for he was very worried^[d] about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report,^[e] the whole city cried out.

¹⁴ When Eli heard the outcry,^[f] he said, “What’s this commotion?”^[g] The man quickly came and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead;^[h] 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^[i] asked, “How did things go, my son?” ¹⁷ The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from^[j] 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^[k] fell backward from his chair beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he^[l] was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

¹⁹ His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and close to giving birth. When she heard that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she doubled over and gave birth. But her labor pains were too much for her. ²⁰ As she was dying, the women who were there with her said, “Don’t be afraid! You have given birth to a son!” But she did not reply or pay any attention.^[m]

²¹ She named the boy Ichabod,^[n] saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been captured.”