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

Eli’s Death and Ichabod’s Birth

¹² That same day, a Benjaminite man ran^(B) from the battle and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn,^(C) and there was dirt on his head. ¹³ When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair beside the road watching,^(D) because he was anxious about the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the entire city cried out.

¹⁴ Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?” The man quickly came and reported to Eli. ¹⁵ At that time Eli was 98 years old, and his gaze was fixed^[a] because he couldn’t see.^(E)

¹⁶ The man said to Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle.^[b] I fled from there today.”

“What happened, my son?”^(F) Eli asked.

¹⁷ The messenger answered, “Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” ¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate,^(G) and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died. Eli had judged Israel 40 years.

¹⁷ Then the king ordered the guards standing by him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord^(A) because they sided with David. For they knew he was fleeing, but they didn’t tell me.”^[a] But the king’s servants would not lift a hand to execute the priests of the Lord.

¹⁸ So the king said to Doeg, “Go and execute the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite went and executed the priests himself. On that day, he killed 85 men^(B) who wore linen ephods.^{(C) 19} He also struck down Nob, the city of the priests, with the sword—both men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep.^(D)

²⁰ However, one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar,^(E) and he fled to David.^(F)