When he made mention of God’s ark, Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck broke, and he died; for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
Parallel translations
- KJV And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
- BSB As soon as the ark of God was mentioned, Eli fell backward from his chair by the city gate, and being old and heavy, he broke his neck and died. And Eli had judged Israel forty years.
- NKJV Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
- NASB When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. And so he judged Israel for forty years.
- NLT When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark of God, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and overweight. He had been Israel’s judge for forty years.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
At the mention of the ark's capture, Eli falls backward, breaks his neck, and dies after judging Israel forty years. Eli's death completes the judgment on his house and his grief over the lost ark.
Overview
It is specifically the news of the ark that overwhelms Eli, causing his fatal fall, which reveals where his heart finally lay. His forty-year leadership ends in catastrophe under the judgment God had foretold. Eli's death marks the close of a failed priestly era and intensifies the need for the faithful Priest-King God will provide.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Sam 4:21–22She named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel”; because God’s ark was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
- 1 Pet 4:17–18For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God?
- Ps 69:9For the zeal of your house consumes me. The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
- Ps 26:8Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells.
- Lev 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” Aaron held his peace.
- 1 Sam 4:13When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching; for his heart trembled for God’s ark. When the man came into the city and told about it, all the city cried out.
- Lam 2:15–19All that pass by clap their hands at you. They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city that men called ‘The perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth’?”
- 1 Sam 3:12–13In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end.
- 1 Sam 2:31–32Behold, the days come, that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father’s house, that there will not be an old man in your house.
- Ps 42:10As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?”
- 1 Cor 11:30–32For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
- Ps 42:3My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?”
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 4:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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