And he said to them: Why do ye these kinds of things, which I hear, very wicked things, from all the people?

And he said to them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil deeds from all this people.

and he saith to them, 'Why do ye things like these? for I am hearing of your evil words from all the people, these!

And he said to them, Why are you doing such things? for from all this people I get accounts of your evil ways.

And he said unto them: 'Why do ye such things? for I hear evil reports concerning you from all this people.

And he said to them, 'Why do you do such things as these that I hear being said of you from the mouth of the people of the LORD?

And he said to them: "Why are you doing these kinds of things, very wicked things, that I have heard from all the people?

Why do ye such things! - Eli appears to have been a fondly affectionate, easy father, who wished his sons to do well, but did not bring them under proper discipline, and did not use his authority to restrain them. As judge, he had power to cast them immediately out of the vineyard, as wicked and unprofitable servants; this he did not, and his and their ruin was the consequence.

And he said unto them, why do ye such things?.... As to impose upon the people that bring their offerings, by taking more than is due, and in a very indecent and imperious manner; and especially to defile the women when they came to worship: these were very scandalous sins, and deserved a more severe reprimand, and indeed a greater chastisement than by mere words; Eli should have rebuked them more sharply, and laid open the evil of their doings, and as a judge punished them for them:
for I hear of your evil doings by all this people; the inhabitants of Shiloh, or who came thither to worship, who were continually making their complaints to Eli; which still shows his backwardness to reprove them in the manner he did until he was obliged to it by the continual remonstrances of the people against the practices of his sons; he did not attend to the information he had from a few persons, until it became general.

He said, &c. - Eli's sin was not only that he reproved them too gently, but that he contented himself with a verbal rebuke, and did not restrain them, and inflict those punishments upon them which such high crimes deserved by God's law, and which he as judge and high - priest ought to have done, without respect of persons.