10 So the Philistines fought. The people of Israel lost the battle. Every man ran back to his tent. A large number of them were killed. Israel lost 30,000 soldiers who were on foot.
11 The ark of God was captured. And Eli's two sons Hophni and Phinehas died.
12 That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the front lines of the battle. He went to Shiloh. His clothes were torn. He had dust on his head.
13 When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair. He was by the side of the road. He was watching because his heart was really concerned about the ark of God. The man entered the town and told everyone what had happened. Then the whole town cried out.
14 Eli heard the people crying out. He asked, "What's the meaning of all of this noise?" The man hurried over to Eli.
15 Eli was 98 years old. His eyes were so bad he couldn't see.
16 The man told Eli, "I've just come from the front lines of the battle. I ran away from there this very day." Eli asked, "What happened, son?"