< 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 Anna worschipide, and seide, Myn herte fulli ioiede in the Lord, and myn horn is reisid in my God; my mouth is alargid on myn enemyes, for Y was glad in thin helthe.
2 There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
Noon is hooli as the Lord is; `for noon other is, outakun thee, and noon is strong as oure 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.
Nyle ye multiplie to speke hiye thingis, and haue glorie; elde thingis go awey fro youre mouth; for God is Lord of kunnyngis, and thouytis ben maad redi to hym.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble are equipped with strength.
The bouwe of strong men is ouercomun, and sijk men ben gird with strengthe.
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.
Men fillid bifore settiden hem silf to hire for looues, and hungri men ben fillid; while the bareyn womman childide ful manye, and sche that hadde many sones, was sijke.
6 The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. (Sheol h7585)
The Lord sleeth, and quikeneth; he ledith forth to hellis, and bryngith ayen. (Sheol h7585)
7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
The Lord makith pore, and makith riche; he makith low, and reisith.
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.
He reisith a nedi man fro poudur, and `he reisith a pore man fro dryt, that he sitte with princes, and holde the seete of glorie; for the endis of erthe ben of the Lord, and he hath set the world on tho.
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 schal kepe `the feet of hise seyntis, and wickid men schulen be stille to gidere in derknessis; for a man schal not be maad strong in his owne strengthe.
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.”
Aduersaries of the Lord schulen drede hym, and in heuenes he schal thundre on hem; the Lord schal deme the endis of erthe, and he schal yyue lordschip to his kyng, and he schal enhaunse the horn, `that is, power, of his Crist.
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy began ministering to the LORD before Eli the priest.
And Helcana yede in to Ramatha, in to his hows; forsothe the child was seruaunt in the siyt of the Lord bifor the face of Ely the preest.
12 Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD
Forsothe the sones of Hely weren sones of Belial,
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 knewen not the Lord, nether the office of preestis to the puple; but who euer hadde offrid sacrifice, the child of the preest cam, while the fleischis weren in sething, and he hadde a fleischhook with thre teeth in his hond;
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.
and he sente it in to the `grete vessel of stoon, ethir in to the caudrun, ethir in to the pot, ethir in to the panne; and what euer thing the fleischhook reiside, the preest took to hym silf; so thei diden to al Israel of men comynge in to Silo.
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.”
Yhe bifor that `the sones of Hely brenten the ynnere fatnesse, the `child of the preest cam, and seyde to the offerere, Yyue `thou fleisch to me, that Y sethe to the preest; for Y schal not take of thee sodun fleisch, but raw.
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 `the offrere seide to hym, The ynnere fatnesse be brent first to day bi the custom, and take thou to thee hou myche euer thi soule desirith. Whiche answeride, and seide to hym, Nay, for thou schalt yyue now; ellis Y schal take bi violence.
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.
Therfor the synne of the children was ful greuouse bifor the Lord; for thei withdrowen men fro the `sacrifice of the Lord.
18 Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.
`Forsothe Samuel, a child gird with a lynnun clooth, mynystride bifor the face of the Lord.
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 moder made to hym a litil coote, which sche brouyte in daies ordeyned, and stiede with hir hosebonde, that he schulde offre a solempne offryng, and his auow.
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 Heli blesside Helcana and his wijf; and Heli seide `to hym, The Lord yelde to thee seed of this womman, for the yifte which thou hast youe to the Lord. And thei yeden in to her place.
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.
Therfor the Lord visitide Anna, and sche conseyuede, and childide thre sones and twei douytris. And the child Samuel was `magnyfied at 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.
Forsothe Hely was ful eld, and he herde alle `thingis whiche hise sones diden in al Israel, and hou thei slepten with wymmen, that awaitiden at the dore of the tabernacle.
23 “Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people.
And he seide to hem, Whi doen ye siche thingis, the worste thingis whiche Y here of al the puple?
24 No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people.
Nyle ye, my sones; it is not good fame, which Y here, that ye make the `puple of the Lord to do trespas.
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 a man synneth ayens a man, God may be plesid to him; forsothe if a man synneth ayens the Lord, who schal preye for hym? And thei herden not the vois of her fadir, for God wolde sle hem.
26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.
Forsothe the child Samuel profitide, and encreessyde, and pleside bothe God and 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?
Sotheli a man of God cam to Hely, and seide to hym, The Lord seith these thingis, Whether Y was not schewid apertli to the hows of thi fadir, whanne he was in Egipt, in the hows of Farao?
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.
And Y chees hym of alle lynagis of Israel `in to preest to me, that he schulde stie to myn auter, and schulde brenne encense to me, and that he schulde bere bifor me preestis cloth; and Y yaf to `the hows of thi fadir alle thingis of the sacrifices of the sones 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.’
Whi hast thou cast awey with the heele my sacrifice, and my yiftis, whiche Y comaundide to be offrid in the temple; and thou onouridst more thi sones than me, that ye eeten the principal partis of ech sacrifice of `Israel, my puple?
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.
Therfor the Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Y spekynge spak, that thin hows and `the hows of thi fadir schulde mynystre in my siyt til in to with outen ende; `now forsothe the Lord seith, Fer be this fro me; but who euere onourith me, Y schal glorifie hym; forsothe thei that dispisen me, schulen be vnnoble.
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.
Lo! daies comen, and Y schal kitte awei thin arm, and the arm of the hows of thi fadir, that an eld man be not in thin hows.
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 thou schalt se thin enemy in the temple, in alle prosperitees of Israel; and an eld man schal not be in thin hows in alle daies.
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.
Netheles Y schal not outerli take awei of thee a man fro myn auter, but that thin iyen faile, and thi soule faile; and greet part of thin hows schal die, whanne it schal come to mannus age.
34 And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.
Forsothe this schal be signe, that schal come to thi twei sones Ophym and Fynees, bothe schulen die in o dai.
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 Y schal reise to me a feithful preest, that schal do bi myn herte and my soule; and Y schal bilde to hym a feithful hows, and he schal go bifore my Crist in alle daies.
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.”’”
Forsothe it schal come, that who euer dwellith in thin hows, he come that `me preie for him, and that he offre a peny of siluer, and a cake of breed, and seie, Y biseche, suffre thou me to o `part of the preest, that Y ete a mussel of breed.

< 1 Samuel 2 >