This shall be the sign to you, that shall come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them.
According to the Levitical law, the portion of the sacrifice that was for God had to be burnt on the altar first, after which the priest and the offerer took their portions. Eli’s sons were not satisfied with this. First, they took more of the boiled meat than they should have, thus robbing the offerer of what rightly belonged to his own sacrificial meal. Second, and much worse, they took the best part of the meat before it was boiled, so that they could roast and eat it at their leisure. This showed their disrespect for God, because it meant that they took their portions before God received his (12-17; cf. Leviticus 3:1-5; Leviticus 7:15; Leviticus 7:29-33).