1 Samuel 4:14

14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, "What [is] the noise of this commotion?" Then the man {came quickly} and told Eli.

1 Samuel 4:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 4:14

And when Eli heard the noise of the crying
The shrieks of the men and women, which were very clamorous and terrible. Eli had his hearing, though not his sight; he could not see the distress in their countenances, but he heard the lamentations they made:

and said, what meaneth the noise of this tumult?
it seems the people ran about, wringing their hands, and making doleful shrieks; the noise of which Eli heard, and the meaning of which he inquired after, or what should be the cause of it:

and the man came in hastily, and told Eli;
or made haste, and came to him, and related all that is later expressed; for Eli was not in any house, but on a seat by the way side, and therefore could not be said to come "in" to him; but he came to him, where he was, being brought by some of the citizens Eli had inquired of what should be the meaning of this noise; and therefore without delay the man was hastened to give the whole account unto him, as it was highly proper he should, being the supreme magistrate.

1 Samuel 4:14 In-Context

12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came [to] Shiloh that same day, and his clothes [were] torn and earth [was] on his head.

13 When he came, {there was} Eli sitting on his chair {by the side of the road} watching, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. Now the man had come {to give his report} in the city, and all the city cried out.

14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, "What [is] the noise of this commotion?" Then the man {came quickly} and told Eli.

15 Now Eli [was] {ninety-eight years old} and his eyes {stayed fixed ahead} and he was not able to see.

16 And the man said to Eli, "I am the [one] who has come from the battle line! I have fled today from the battle line!" And he said, "{What exactly happened}, my son?"

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "hastened and came"