^4:12On that day¹⁶ a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head. ^4:13When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of¹⁷ the road, for he was very worried¹⁸ about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report,¹⁹ the whole city cried out.

^4:14When Eli heard the outcry,²⁰ he said, “What is this commotion?”²¹ The man quickly came and told Eli. ^4:15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead;²² he was unable to see.

^4:16The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!” Eli²³ asked, “How did things go, my son?” ^4:17The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from²⁴ the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”

^4:18When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli²⁵ fell backward from his chair beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he²⁶ was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

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Footnotes

16 Or perhaps, “the same day.” On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see 2: §143.f.
17 Read with many medieval Hebrew , the Qere, and much versional evidence יַד (yad, “hand”) rather than יַךְ (yakh).
18 Heb “his heart was trembling.”
19 Heb “and the man came to report in the city.”
20 Heb “the sound of the cry.”
21 Heb “the sound of this commotion.”
22 Heb “were set” or “were fixed,” i.e., without vision.
23 Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 Heb “before.”
25 Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 Heb “the man.”