Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 3:13

"For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons did bring a curse upon themselves, and he restrained them not." — 1 Samuel 3:13 (ASV)

Because his sons made themselves vile.—The enormity of the sin of Eli and his house, which was to be so fearfully punished, must be measured by the extent of the mischief it caused; nearly all Israel was involved in it. The fatal example the priests had set at Shiloh permeated the entire people; as a result, unbelief in the Eternal was becoming general throughout the land. The old pure religion was rapidly dying out in the hearts of the people, and the profligacy and covetousness of Shiloh would soon have been copied only too faithfully in all the homes of Israel. This fearful state of things was known to the high priest and judge, and still the weak and indulgent father refrained from removing his sons from their high office.