God had already spoken to
Eli. "The time is coming when I will
cut short your strength and the strength of your father's house, so
that there will not be an old man in your family line and you will
see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel,
in your family line there will never be an old man. Every one
of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to
blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your
descendants will die in the prime of life."