1 Samuel 4:13-16

4:13 When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of 1  the road, for he was very worried 2  about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report, 3  the whole city cried out.

4:14 When Eli heard the outcry, 4  he said, “What is this commotion?” 5  The man quickly came and told Eli. 4:15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead; 6  he was unable to see.

4:16 The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!” Eli 7  asked, “How did things go, my son?”

1 tc Read with many medieval Hebrew mss, the Qere, and much versional evidence יַד (yad, “hand”) rather than MT יַךְ (yakh).

2 tn Heb “his heart was trembling.”

3 tn Heb “and the man came to report in the city.”

4 tn Heb “the sound of the cry.”

5 tn Heb “the sound of this commotion.”

6 tn Heb “were set” or “were fixed,” i.e., without vision.

7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.