16. He told Eli, ‘I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.’Eli asked, ‘What happened, my son?’
17. The man who brought the news replied, ‘Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.’
18. When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backwards off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had ledb Israel for forty years.