KJV ORIGINAL
Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes had grown so dim that he could not see.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE
This verse tells us that Eli, the high priest, was very old and had lost his eyesight due to his advanced age.
📚 Historical Context
Eli was the high priest of Israel who served at the tabernacle in Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. This verse comes during a crucial moment when the Israelites had just suffered a devastating defeat against the Philistines, and the Ark had been captured. Eli's physical blindness here symbolically reflects the spiritual blindness that had affected Israel's leadership during this dark period in their history.
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