1 Samuel 4:17-19

GOD’S WORD Translation

¹⁷ “Israel fled from the Philistines,” the messenger answered. “Our troops suffered heavy casualties. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

¹⁸ When the messenger mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell from his chair backwards toward the gate. He broke his neck, and he died. (The man was old and heavy.) He had judged ^[a] Israel for 40 years.

¹⁹ His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor prematurely and gave birth to a son.