1 Samuel 4:17-20

4:17 The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from ¹  the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”

4:18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli ²  fell backward from his chair beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he ³  was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.

4:19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas, was pregnant and close to giving birth. When she heard that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she doubled over and gave birth. But her labor pains were too much for her. 4:20 As she was dying, the women who were there with her said, “Don’t be afraid! You have given birth to a son!” But she did not reply or pay any attention. ⁴ 

[4:17]  ¹ tn Heb “before.”

[4:18]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:18]  ³ tn Heb “the man.”

[4:20]  ³ tn Heb “and she did not set her heart.”