1 Samuel 2
1 At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD in whom my horn is exalted. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation.
And Hannah, in prayer before the Lord, said, My heart is glad in the Lord, my horn is lifted up in the Lord: my mouth is open wide over my haters; because my joy is in your salvation.
2 There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
No other is holy as the Lord, for there is no other God but you: there is no Rock like our God.
3 Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.
Say no more words of pride; let not uncontrolled sayings come out of your mouths: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, by him acts are judged.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble are equipped with strength.
The bows of the men of war are broken, and the feeble are clothed with strength.
5 The well-fed hire themselves out for food, but the starving hunger no more. The barren woman gives birth to seven, but she who has many sons pines away.
Those who were full are offering themselves as servants for bread; those who were in need are at rest; truly, she who had no children has become the mother of seven; and she who had a family is wasted with sorrow.
The Lord is the giver of death and life: sending men down to the underworld and lifting them up. (Sheol h7585)
7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
The Lord gives wealth and takes a man's goods from him: crushing men down and again lifting them up;
8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.
Lifting the poor out of the dust, and him who is in need out of the lowest place, to give them their place among rulers, and for their heritage the seat of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and he has made them the base of the world.
9 He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the evil-doers will come to their end in the dark night, for by strength no man will overcome.
10 Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
Those who make war against the Lord will be broken; against them he will send his thunder from heaven: the Lord will be judge of the ends of the earth, he will give strength to his king, lifting up the horn of him on whom the holy oil has been put.
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy began ministering to the LORD before Eli the priest.
Then Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child became the servant of the Lord under the direction of Eli the priest.
12 Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD
Now the sons of Eli were evil and good-for-nothing men, having no knowledge of the Lord.
13 or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling
And the priests' way with the people was this: when any man made an offering, the priest's servant came while the flesh was being cooked, having in his hand a meat-hook with three teeth;
14 and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.
This he put into the pot, and everything which came up on the hook the priest took for himself. This they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.
15 Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
And more than this, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was making the offering, Give me some of the flesh to be cooked for the priest; he has no taste for meat cooked in water, but would have you give it uncooked.
16 And if any man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you may take whatever you want,” the servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you refuse, I will take it by force!”
And if the man said to him, First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you will; then the servant would say, No, you are to give it to me now, or I will take it by force.
17 Thus the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.
And the sin of these young men was very great before the Lord; for they gave no honour to the Lord's offerings.
18 Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.
But Samuel did the work of the Lord's house, while he was a child, dressed in a linen ephod.
19 Each year his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.
And his mother made him a little robe and took it to him every year when she came with her husband for the year's offering.
20 And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.” Then they would go home.
And every year Eli gave Elkanah and his wife a blessing, saying, May the Lord give you offspring by this woman in exchange for the child you have given to the Lord. And they went back to their house.
21 So the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
And the Lord had mercy on Hannah and she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the young Samuel became older before the Lord.
22 Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
Now Eli was very old; and he had news from time to time of what his sons were doing to all Israel.
23 “Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people.
And he said to them, Why are you doing such things? for from all this people I get accounts of your evil ways.
24 No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people.
No, my sons, the account which is given me, which the Lord's people are sending about, is not good.
25 If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to put them to death.
If one man does wrong to another, God will be his judge: but if a man's sin is against the Lord, who will take up his cause? But they gave no attention to the voice of their father, for it was the Lord's purpose to send destruction on them.
26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.
And the young Samuel, becoming older, had the approval of the Lord and of men.
27 Then a man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s house?
And a man of God came to Eli and said to him, The Lord says, Did I let myself be seen by your father's people when they were in Egypt, servants in Pharaoh's house?
28 And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the offerings of the Israelites made by fire.
Did I take him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest and to go up to my altar to make the smoke of the offerings go up and to take up the ephod? Did I give to your father's family all the offerings made by fire by the children of Israel?
29 Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all the offerings of My people Israel.’
Why then are you looking with envy on my offerings of meat and of meal which were ordered by my word, honouring your sons before me, and making yourselves fat with all the best of the offerings of Israel, my people?
30 Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.
For this reason the Lord God of Israel has said, Truly I did say that your family and your father's people would have their place before me for ever: but now the Lord says, Let it not be so; I will give honour to those by whom I am honoured, and those who have no respect for me will be of small value in my eyes.
31 Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that no older man will be left in your house.
See, the days are coming when your arm and the arm of your father's people will be cut off;
32 You will see distress in My dwelling place. Despite all that is good in Israel, no one in your house will ever again reach old age.
And never again will there be an old man in your family.
33 And every one of you that I do not cut off from My altar, your eyes will fail and your heart will grieve. All your descendants will die by the sword of men.
But one man of your family will not be cut off by my hand, and his eyes will be made dark, and grief will be in his heart: and all the offspring of your family will come to their end by the sword of men.
34 And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.
And this will be the sign to you, which will come on Hophni and Phinehas, your sons; death will overtake them on the same day.
35 Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. And I will build for him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed one for all time.
And I will make a true priest for myself, one who will do what is in my heart and in my mind: and I will make for him a family which will not come to an end; and his place will be before my holy one for ever.
36 And everyone left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a morsel of bread, pleading, “Please appoint me to some priestly office so that I can eat a piece of bread.”’”
Then it will be that the rest of your family, anyone who has not been cut off, will go down on his knees to him for a bit of silver or a bit of bread, and say, Be pleased to put me into one of the priest's places so that I may have a little food.
