12 Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and dust on his head . 13 When he came , behold , Eli was sitting on his seat by the road eagerly watching , because his heart was trembling for the ark of God . So the man came to tell it in the city , and all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry , he said , "What does the noise of this commotion mean?" Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli . 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight e years old , and his eyes were set so that he could not see . 16 The man said to Eli , "I am the one who came from the battle line . Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today ." And he said , " How did things go , my son ?" 17 Then the one who brought the news replied , "Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people , and your two sons also , Hophni and Phinehas , are dead , and the ark of God has been taken ." 18 When he mentioned the ark of God , Eli fell off e the seat backward beside e the gate , and his neck was broken and he died , for he was old and heavy . Thus he judged Israel forty years .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Samuel 4:12-18
Commentary on 1 Samuel 4:12-18
(Read 1 Samuel 4:12-18)
The defeat of the army was very grievous to Eli as a judge; the tidings of the death of his two sons, to whom he had been so indulgent, and who, as he had reason to fear, died impenitent, touched him as a father; yet there was a greater concern on his spirit. And when the messenger concluded his story with, "The ark of God is taken," he is struck to the heart, and died immediately. A man may die miserably, yet not die eternally; may come to an untimely end, yet the end be peace.