1 Samuel 2

1 “My heart exults in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies. For I have rejoiced in your salvation.

My heart is established in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God; my mouth is enlarged over my enemies, I have rejoiced in your salvation.

2 Nothing is holy as the Lord is holy. For there is no other beside you. And nothing is strong as our God is strong.

For there is none holy as the Lord, and there is none righteous as our God; there is none holy besides you.

3 Do not continue speaking of great things, boasting. Let what is old depart from your mouth. For the Lord is the God of knowledge, and thoughts are prepared for him.

Boast not, and utter not high things; let not high-sounding words come out of your mouth, for the Lord [is] a God of knowledge, and God prepares his own designs.

4 The bow of the powerful has been overwhelmed, and the weak have been girded with strength.

The bow of the mighty has waxed feeble, and the weak have girded themselves with strength.

5 Those who before were filled, have hired themselves out for bread. And the starving have been filled, so that the barren have given birth to many. But she who had borne many sons has become unable.

They that were full of bread are brought low; and the hungry have forsaken the land; for the barren has born seven, and she that abounded in children has waxed feeble.

6 The Lord brings death, and he gives life. He leads away to death, and he brings back again. (Sheol h7585)

The Lord kills and makes alive; he brings down to the grave, and brings up. (Sheol h7585)

7 The Lord impoverishes, and he enriches. He humbles, and he lifts up.

The Lord makes poor, and makes rich; he brings low, and lifts up.

8 He raises up the indigent from the dust, and he lifts up the poor from filth, so that they may sit with princes, and take hold of a throne of glory. For the hinges of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the globe upon them.

He lifts up the poor from the earth, and raises the needy from the dunghill; to seat him with the princes of the people, and causing them to inherit the throne of glory:

9 He will preserve the feet of his holy ones, and the impious will be silenced in darkness. For no man will prevail by his own strength.

granting his petition to him that prays; and he blesses the years of the righteous, for by strength can’t man prevail.

10 The adversaries of the Lord will dread him. And over them, he will thunder in the heavens. The Lord will judge the parts of the earth, and he will give dominion to his king, and he will lift up the horn of his Christ.”

The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

11 And Elkanah went away to Ramah, to his house. But the boy was a minister in the sight of the Lord, before the face of Eli, the priest.

and departed to Armathaim: and the child ministered in the presence of the Lord before Heli the priest.

12 But the sons of Eli were sons of Belial, not knowing the Lord,

And the sons of Heli the priest [were] evil sons, not knowing the Lord.

13 nor the priestly office for the people. And so, no matter who had immolated a victim, the servant of the priest would arrive, while the flesh was still cooking, and he would take a three-pronged hook in his hand,

And the priest's claim from every one of the people that sacrificed [was this: ] the servant of the priest came when the flesh was in seething, and a flesh-hook of three teeth [was] in his hand.

14 and put it into the vessel, or into the cauldron, or into the cooking pot, or into the pan, and all that the hook lifted up, the priest took for himself. So they did to all of Israel who arrived at Shiloh.

And he struck it into the great cauldron, or into the brazen vessel, or into the pot, and whatever came up with the flesh-hook, the priest took for himself: so they did to all Israel that came to sacrifice to the Lord in Selom.

15 In addition, before they burned the fat, the servant of the priest would arrive, and he would say to the one who was immolating: “Give me the flesh, so that I may boil it for the priest. For I will not accept cooked meat from you, but raw.”

And before the fat was burnt for a sweet savour, the servant of the priest would come, and say to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, and I will by no means take of you sodden flesh out of the cauldron.

16 And the one who was immolating would say to him, “First, allow the fat to be burned today, according to custom, and then take for yourself whatever your soul desires.” But in response, he would say to him: “By no means. For you will give it to me now, otherwise I will take it by force.”

And [if] the man that sacrificed said, First let the fat be burnt, as it is fit, and take for yourself of all things which your soul desires: then he would say, Nay, for you shall give it me now; and if not I will take it by force.

17 Therefore, the sin of the servants was exceedingly great before the Lord. For they drew men away from the sacrifice of the Lord.

So the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for they set at nothing the offering of the Lord.

18 But Samuel was ministering before the face of the Lord; he was a youth girded with a linen ephod.

And Samuel ministered before the Lord, a child girded with a linen ephod.

19 And his mother fashioned a little tunic for him, which she brought to him on the appointed days, ascending with her husband, so that he might immolate the solemn sacrifice.

And his mother made him a little doublet, and brought it to him from year to year, in her going up in company with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife. And he said to him, “May the Lord repay to you offspring from this woman, on behalf of the loan that you offered to the Lord.” And they went away to their own place.

And Heli blessed Helcana and his wife, saying The Lord recompense to you seed of this woman, in return for the loan which you have lent to the Lord: and the man returned to his place.

21 Then the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the youth Samuel was magnified with the Lord.

And the Lord visited Anna, and she bore yet three sons, and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

22 Now Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons were doing to all of Israel, and how they were sleeping with the women who were waiting at the door of the tabernacle.

And Heli [was] very old, and he heard what his sons did to the children of Israel.

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

And he said to them, Why do you according to this thing, which I hear from the mouth of all the people of the Lord?

24 My sons, do not be willing. For it is no good report that I am hearing, so that you would cause the people of the Lord to transgress.

Nay [my] sons, for the report which I hear [is] not good; do not so, for the reports which I hear [are] not good, so that the people do not serve God.

25 If a man has sinned against a man, God may be able to be appeased over him. But if a man has sinned against the Lord, who will pray for him?” But they did not listen to the voice of their father, that the Lord was willing to kill them.

If a man should at all sin against another, then shall they pray for him to the Lord; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? But they listened not to the voice of their father, because the Lord would by all means destroy them.

26 But the youth Samuel advanced, and grew up, and he was pleasing to the Lord, as well as to men.

And the child Samuel advanced, and was in favour with God and with men.

27 Then a man of God went to Eli, and he said to him: “Thus says the Lord: Was I not revealed openly to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh?

And a man of God came to Heli, and said, Thus says the Lord, I plainly revealed myself to the house of your father, when they were servants in Egypt to the house of Pharao.

28 And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel for myself as priest, so that he might ascend to my altar, and burn incense to me, and wear the ephod before me. And I gave to the house of your father all the sacrifices of the sons of Israel.

And I chose the house of your father out of all the tribes of Israel to minister to me in the priest's office, to go up to my altar, and to burn incense, and to wear an ephod. And I gave to the house of your father all the offerings by fire of the children of Israel for food.

29 Why have you kicked away my victims and my gifts, which I instructed to be offered in the temple? And why have you given more honor to your sons than to me, so that you eat the first-fruits of every sacrifice of my people Israel?

And therefore have you looked upon my incense-offering and my meat-offering with a shameless eye, and have honoured your sons above me, so that they should bless themselves with the first fruits of every sacrifice of Israel before me?

30 Because of this, the Lord God of Israel says: I have spoken clearly, so that your house, and the house of your father, may minister in my sight, even forever. But now the Lord says: May this be far from me. Instead, whoever will have glorified me, I will glorify him. But whoever despises me, they will be despised.

Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel, I said, Your house and the house of your father shall pass before me for ever: but now the Lord says, That be far from me; for I will only honour them that honour me, and he that sets me at nothing shall be despised.

31 Behold the days are arriving, when I will cut off your arm, and the arm of the house of your father, so that there will not be an old man in your house.

Behold, the days come when I will destroy your seed and the seed of your father's house.

32 And you will see your rival in the temple, amid all the prosperity of Israel. And there will not be an old man in your house for all days.

And you shall not have an old man in my house for ever.

33 Yet truly, I will not entirely take away a man of you from my altar, but such that your eyes may fail, and your soul may melt away, and a great part of your house may die out, as it pertains to the state of men.

And [if] I do not destroy a man of your from my altar, [it shall be] that his eyes may fail and his soul may perish; and every one that remains in your house shall fall by the sword of men.

34 But this will be a sign to you, which will happen to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on one day they both will die.

And this which shall come upon your two sons Ophni and Phinees shall be a sign to you; in one day they shall both die.

35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will act in accord with my heart and my soul. And I will build a faithful house for him. And he will walk before my Christ for all days.

And I will raise up to myself a faithful priest, who shall do all that is in my heart and in my soul; and I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before my Christ for ever.

36 Then this will be in the future, that whoever will have remained of your house, he will approach so that he may pray on his behalf. And he will offer a coin of silver, and a twist of bread. And he will say: ‘Permit me, I beg you, one part of the priestly office, so that I may eat a mouthful of bread.’”

And it shall come to pass that he that survives in your house, shall come to do obeisance before him for a little piece of silver, saying, Put me into one of your priest's offices to eat bread.