1 Samuel 4:11-18

11The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

12That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. 13When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God.

When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out.

14Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?”

So the man hurried over and reported to Eli. 15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his gaze was fixed because he could not see.

16“I have just come from the battle,” the man said to Eli. “I fled from there today.”

“What happened, my son?” Eli asked.

17The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

18As soon as the ark of God was mentioned, Eli fell backward from his chair by the city gate, and being old and heavy, he broke his neck and died. And Eli had judged1 Israel forty years.