14Eli heard the outcry and asked, “What is the meaning of this uproar?”
The man hurried over to Eli,15who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes were set so that he could not see.16He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.”
Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

17The 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.”

18When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had ledTraditionally judged Israel forty years.