1 Samuel 4:16-18 ▼

16 The man said to Eli: “I have come from the battlefield; today I fled from there.” He asked, “What happened, my son?”

17 And the messenger answered: “Israel fled from the Philistines; in fact, the troops suffered heavy losses. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

18 At this mention of the ark of God, Eli fell backward from his chair into the gateway; he died of a broken neck since he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.