1 Samuel 4:16
New International Version
He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.” Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”

New Living Translation
He said to Eli, “I have just come from the battlefield—I was there this very day.” “What happened, my son?” Eli demanded.

English Standard Version
And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, “How did it go, my son?”

Berean Standard Bible
“I have just come from the battle,” the man said to Eli. “I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked.

King James Bible
And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?

New King James Version
Then the man said to Eli, “I am he who came from the battle. And I fled today from the battle line.” And he said, “What happened, my son?”

New American Standard Bible
The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “How are things, my son?”

NASB 1995
The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “How did things go, my son?”

NASB 1977
And the man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “How did things go, my son?”

Legacy Standard Bible
And the man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I fled from the battle line today.” And he said, “How did things go, my son?”

Amplified Bible
The man said to Eli, “I have come from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” Eli said, “How did things go, my son?”

Christian Standard Bible
The man said to Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle. I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son? ” Eli asked.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The man said to Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle. I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked.

American Standard Version
And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army. And he said, How went the matter, my son?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And that man said to Eli: “I have come from the front line and I fled from the front line to come today!” And he said to him: “What is the message my son?”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Heli said to them that stood round about him, What is the voice of this sound? And the man hasted and advanced to Heli, and said to him, I am he that is come out of the camp, and I have fled from the battle to-day: and Heli said, What is the even, my son?

Contemporary English Version
"I escaped from the fighting today and ran here." "Young man, what happened?" Eli asked.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to Heli: I am he that came from the battle, and have fled out of the field this day. And he said to him: What is there done, my son?

English Revised Version
And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. And he said, How went the matter, my son?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The man told Eli, "I'm the one who came from the battle. I fled from the front line today." "What happened, son?" Eli asked.

Good News Translation
The man said, "I have escaped from the battle and have run all the way here today." Eli asked him, "What happened, my son?"

International Standard Version
The man told Eli, "I've just come from the battle line, and I escaped from the battle today." He asked, "What happened, my son?"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the man said unto Eli: 'I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army.' And he said: 'How went the matter, my son?'

Literal Standard Version
And the man says to Eli, “I [am] he who has come out of the ranks, and I have fled out of the ranks today”; and he says, “What has been the matter, my son?”

Majority Standard Bible
“I have just come from the battle,” the man said to Eli. “I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked.

New American Bible
The man said to Eli: “I have come from the battlefield; today I fled from there.” He asked, “What happened, my son?”

NET Bible
The man said to Eli, "I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!" Eli asked, "How did things go, my son?"

New Revised Standard Version
The man said to Eli, “I have just come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” He said, “How did it go, my son?”

New Heart English Bible
The man said to Eli, "I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army." He said, "How did the matter go, my son?"

Webster's Bible Translation
And the man said to Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?

World English Bible
The man said to Eli, “I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army.” He said, “How did the matter go, my son?”

Young's Literal Translation
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?'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Death of Eli
15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his gaze was fixed because he could not see. 16“I have just come from the battle,” the man said to Eli. “I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked. 17The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”…

Cross References
1 Samuel 4:17
The messenger answered, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured."

2 Samuel 1:4
"What was the outcome?" David asked. "Please tell me." "The troops fled from the battle," he replied. "Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead."


Treasury of Scripture

And the man said to Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son?

What is there done.

2 Samuel 1:4
And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.

my son

1 Samuel 3:6
And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

Joshua 7:19
And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.

Jump to Previous
Army Battle Eli Escaped Indeed Line Matter Ranks Today To-Day
Jump to Next
Army Battle Eli Escaped Indeed Line Matter Ranks Today To-Day
1 Samuel 4
1. The Israelites are overcome by the Philistines at Ebenezer
3. They fetch the ark unto the terror of the Philistines
10. They are smitten again, the ark taken, and Hophni and Phinehas are slain
12. Eli at the news, falling backward, breaks his neck
19. Phinehas's wife, discouraged in her travail with Ichabod, dies














(16) I fled to day out of the army.--The fatal battle had taken place very early that same morning. The utter rout, the awful slaughter, the death of Hophni and Phinehas, and the loss of the Ark of the Covenant, all this the messenger knew, and with this terrible news had hasted to the seat of the government--the now empty sanctuary.

The very words of the runner were remembered. The whole vivid scene was evidently related by a bystander--some have even suggested that it was Samuel who stood by Eli's side.

Verses 16, 17. - What is there done, my son? Literally, What is the thing? Or, as the phrase is translated in 2 Samuel 1:4, "How went the matter?" Eli must have gathered from the words of the messenger that Israel had been defeated; for he expressly says, I fled, and his haste, as testified by the added words today, showed that the defeat was a severe one. Eli, therefore, anxiously asks what has happened, and the answer piles misery upon misery, rapidly heaping together four crushing catastrophes. For Israel had fled before the Philistines; there had been a great slaughter; among the slain were Eli's two sons; and, worst of all, the ark of God was taken.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“I
אָֽנֹכִי֙ (’ā·nō·ḵî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 595: I

have just come
הַבָּ֣א (hab·bā)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

the battle,”
הַמַּעֲרָכָ֔ה (ham·ma·‘ă·rā·ḵāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4634: An arrangement, a pile, a military array

the man
הָאִ֜ישׁ (hā·’îš)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

said
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

Eli.
עֵלִ֗י (‘ê·lî)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 5941: Eli -- a priest at Shiloh

“I
וַאֲנִ֕י (wa·’ă·nî)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

fled
נַ֣סְתִּי (nas·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5127: To flit, vanish away

from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

there today.”
הַמַּעֲרָכָ֖ה (ham·ma·‘ă·rā·ḵāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4634: An arrangement, a pile, a military array

“What
מֶֽה־ (meh-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

happened,
הָיָ֥ה (hā·yāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

my son?”
בְּנִֽי׃ (bə·nî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1121: A son

Eli asked.
וַיֹּ֛אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say


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OT History: 1 Samuel 4:16 The man said to Eli (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 4:15
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