1 Samuel 3:14

And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, by an oath which made the sentence of punishment irrevocable, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever. It was no longer a warning, but a definite statement of a curse which was about to descend upon Eli and his house for his neglect of the duty which he should have performed to his sons as father, high priest, and judge, by employing severe chastisement und punishment upon them. The harm done by the crimes of the priests affected the whole family, even their descendants. This story should be heeded more in our days, when mawkish sentimentality is making a farce of bringing up children.