1 Samuel 4:14

14 And Eli heareth the noise of the cry, and saith, `What -- the noise of this tumult!' And the man hasted, and cometh in, and declareth to 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 And a man of Benjamin runneth out of the ranks, and cometh into Shiloh, on that day, and his long robes [are] rent, and earth on his head;

13 and he cometh in, and lo, Eli is sitting on the throne by the side of the way, watching, for his heart hath been trembling for the ark of God, and the man hath come in to declare [it] in the city, and all the city crieth out.

14 And Eli heareth the noise of the cry, and saith, `What -- the noise of this tumult!' And the man hasted, and cometh in, and declareth to Eli.

15 And Eli is a son of ninety and eight years, and his eyes have stood, and he hath not been able to see.

16 And the man saith unto Eli, `I [am] he who hath come out of the ranks, and I out of the ranks have fled to-day;' and he saith, `What hath been the matter, my son?'