Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Samuel 3:11-13

"And Jehovah said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even unto the end. 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 3:11-13 (ASV)

And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth;

What a striking expression, the iniquity which he knoweth.

There is a good deal of iniquity about us which we do not know; that is a sin of ignorance. But deep down in his heart Eli knew that he had been afraid to speak to his sons about their sins, and that, when he had spoken, it had been in such lenient terms that they made light of them. Possibly, he had never chastened them when they were young, and he had not spoken to them sharply when they were older.

Remember that he was a judge, and he should not have allowed his sons to remain priests if they were behaving themselves filthily at the door of the tabernacle. He should have dealt with them as he would have dealt with anybody else; he did not, so God said, I have told him, that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth;