4:10 So the Philistines fought. Israel was defeated; they all ran home. 1 The slaughter was very great; thirty thousand foot soldiers fell in battle. 4:11 The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were killed.
4:12 On that day 2 a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head. 4:13 When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of 3 the road, for he was very worried 4 about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report, 5 the whole city cried out.
4:14 When Eli heard the outcry, 6 he said, “What is this commotion?” 7 The man quickly came and told Eli. 4:15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead; 8 he was unable to see.
4:16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!” Eli 9 asked, “How did things go, my son?” 4:17 The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from 10 the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”
1 tn Heb “and they fled, each to his tents.”
2 tn Or perhaps, “the same day.” On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon 2:532 §143.f.
3 tc Read with many medieval Hebrew
4 tn Heb “his heart was trembling.”
5 tn Heb “and the man came to report in the city.”
4 tn Heb “the sound of the cry.”
5 tn Heb “the sound of this commotion.”
5 tn Heb “were set” or “were fixed,” i.e., without vision.
6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “before.”