1 Samuel 2

1 Then Hannah prayed, saying, “I rejoice in [what] you, [, have done]. I am strong [MET] because I belong to you. I (laugh at/ridicule) my enemies, because you, Yahweh have rescued me [from being taunted by them].

My heart hath rejoiced in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God: my mouth is enlarged over my enemies: because I have joyed in thy salvation.

2 There is no one who is holy like you, Yahweh. There is no other god like you. There is no one like you, our God, who can protect us [as though you were putting us beneath] a huge rock [where we can hide from danger].

There is none holy as the Lord is: for there is no other beside thee, and there is none strong like our God.

3 [You people who oppose God], stop boasting! Yahweh is a God who knows [everything], and he will evaluate/judge everyone’s actions. So don’t speak so arrogantly!

Do not multiply to speak lofty things, boasting: let old matters depart from your mouth: for the Lord is a God of all knowledge, and to him are thoughts prepared.

4 Yahweh, you break the bows/weapons of mighty soldiers, and you give strength to those who stumble [because of being weak].

The bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girt with strength.

5 Many people who previously had plenty to eat, now have to work for other people [to earn money] to buy food, but many who were always hungry are not hungry any more. The woman who did not have any children before, now has given birth to many/seven children, and the woman who had many children before, now is very lonely [because they have all died].

They that were full before have hired out themselves for bread: and the hungry are filled, so that the barren hath borne many: and she that had many children is weakened.

6 Yahweh, you cause some people to die, and you restore some people who are almost dead. For some people, [it seems that they will soon] go to where the dead people are, but you cause them to become healthy again. (Sheol h7585)

The Lord killeth and maketh alive, he bringeth down to hell and bringeth back again. (Sheol h7585)

7 Yahweh, you cause some people to be poor and you cause some people to be rich, you humble some people and you honor some people.

The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, he humbleth and he exalteth.

8 [Sometimes] you lift poor people up so that they are no longer [despondent, sitting in the dust, ] or sitting on heaps of ashes; you cause them to sit next to princes; you cause them to sit on chairs/thrones where people who are highly honored sit. Yahweh, you are the one who laid the foundations of the earth, and you have set the whole world on those foundations.

He raiseth up the needy from the dust, and lifteth up the poor from the dunghill: that he may sit with princes, and hold the throne of glory. For the poles of the earth are the Lord’s, and upon them he hath set the world.

9 You will protect your loyal/faithful people [SYN], but you will cause the wicked to die [EUP] and descend to the dark [place where dead people are]. We do not defeat [our enemies] by our own strength;

He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness, because no man shall prevail by his own strength.

10 Yahweh, you will break into pieces those who oppose you. You will cause thunder in the sky to show that you (oppose/are angry with) them. Yahweh, you will judge [people everywhere, even those who live in] the most remote places on the earth. You will give strength to the king whom you will appoint, and give him great power [over his enemies].”

The adversaries of the Lord shall fear him: and upon them shall he thunder in the heavens. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give empire to his king, and shall exalt the horn of his Christ.

11 Then Elkanah [and his family] returned to Ramah, but Samuel, the little boy, stayed to help Eli the priest serve Yahweh.

And Elcana went to Ramatha, to his house: but the child ministered in the sight of the Lord before the face of Heli the priest.

12 Eli’s two [, who were also priests, ] were very wicked. They did not revere (OR, respect/obey) Yahweh.

Now the sons of Heli were children of Belial, not knowing the Lord,

13 While the people were boiling the meat from their sacrifices [in the huge pot at the temple], one of Eli’s sons, [would send his servant to come with a large three-pronged fork in his hand].

Nor the office of the priests to the people: but whosoever had offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest came, while the flesh was in boiling, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand,

14 [He] would stick the fork into [the meat in] the pot, and whatever meat fastened onto the fork, he would take [and give it] to the priest who sent him. Eli’s sons did this to all the Israeli people who came to Shiloh [to offer sacrifices].

And thrust it into the kettle, or into the caldron, or into the pot, or into the pan: and all that the fleshhook brought up, the priest took to himself. Thus did they to all Israel that came to Silo.

15 Furthermore, before the fat [on the meat] was [cut off and] and burned [as a sacrifice to Yahweh], the servant of the priest would [sometimes] come to the man who was making the sacrifice and say to him, “Give me some meat [now to take] to the priest for him to roast! He wants raw meat; he does not want boiled meat.”

Also before they burnt the fat, the servant of the priest came, and said to the man that sacrificed: Give me flesh to boil for the priest: for I will not take of thee sodden flesh, but raw.

16 If the man said to the servant, “Let the priests [cut off and] burn the fat first; then you can take what you want,” the servant would reply, “No, give it to me now; if you do not give it to me, I will take it forcefully!”

And he that sacrificed said to him: Let the fat first be burnt today according to the custom, and then take as much as thy soul desireth. But he answered and said to him: Not so: but thou shalt give it me now, or else I will take it by force.

17 Yahweh considered that the young [sons of Eli] were committing a very great sin, because they were treating very disrespectfully the offerings that were being given to Yahweh.

Wherefore the sin of the young men was exceeding great before the Lord: because they withdrew men from the sacrifice of the Lord.

18 As for Samuel, who was still a very young boy, he continued to do work for Yahweh, wearing a little sacred linen vest [like the Supreme Priest wore].

But Samuel ministered before the face of the Lord: being a child girded with a linen ephod.

19 Each year his mother made a [new] little robe for him and took it to him when she went up [to Shiloh] with her husband to offer a sacrifice.

And his mother made him a little coat, which she brought to him on the appointed days, when she went up with her husband, to offer the solemn sacrifice.

20 Then Eli would [ask God to] bless Elkanah and his wife, and he would say to Elkanah, “I hope/desire that Yahweh will enable your wife to give birth to other children, to take the place of the one whom she dedicated to Yahweh.” Then Elkanah and his family would return home.

And Heli blessed Elcana and his wife: and he said to him: The Lord give thee seed of this woman, for the loan thou hast lent to the Lord. And they went to their own home.

21 And Yahweh was very kind to Hannah, and enabled her to give birth to three [other] sons and two daughters. Their son Samuel grew up while he was doing work for Yahweh [in the Sacred Tent].

And the Lord visited Anna, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters: and the child Samuel became great before the Lord.

22 Eli became very old. He often heard about all the [evil] things that his sons were doing to the Israeli people. He heard that they [sometimes] (slept with/had sex with) the women who worked at the entrance to the tent where [God] spoke to [his people].

Now Heli was very old, and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel: and how they lay with the women that waited at the door of the tabernacle:

23 He said to them, “(It is terrible that you do such things!/Why do you do such things?) [RHQ] Many people keep telling me about the evil things that you do.

And he said to them: Why do ye these kinds of things, which I hear, very wicked things, from all the people?

24 My sons, stop it! The reports [about you] that the people who belong to Yahweh tell others are terrible [EUP]!

Do not so, my sons: for it is no good report that I hear, that you make the people of the Lord to transgress.

25 If one person sins against another person, God can (intercede/act as a referee) between them. But if someone sins against Yahweh, no one can [RHQ] (intercede/act as a referee) between them!” But Eli’s sons would not listen to what their father said. This was because Yahweh had decided [that someone should] them.

If one man shall sin against another, God may be appeased in his behalf: but if a man shall sin against the Lord, who shall pray for him? And they hearkened not to the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.

26 The boy Samuel continued to grow up, and the things that he did pleased Yahweh and the people.

But the child Samuel advanced, and grew on, and pleased both the Lord and men.

27 One day, a prophet came to Eli and told him, “This is what Yahweh has told me: ‘When your ancestors were slaves of the king of Egypt, I appeared to Aaron.

And there came a man of God to Heli, and said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Did I not plainly appear to thy father’s house, when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharao?

28 From all the tribes of the Israeli people, I chose him [and his male descendants] to be priests for me. I appointed them to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear a sacred apron [as they worked] for me. And I declared that they could take [and eat some of the meat] that the Israeli people burned [on the altar].

And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my sitar, and burn incense to me, and to wear the ephod before me: and I gave to thy father’s house of all the sacrifices of the children of Israel.

29 So why do you show disrespect for the sacrifices and offerings that I commanded [the people to bring] to me [RHQ]? You are honoring your sons more than you are honoring me, by allowing them to get fat from eating the best parts of all the sacrifices that the Israeli people bring to me!’

Why have you kicked away my victims, and my gifts which I commanded to be offered in the temple: and thou hast rather honoured thy sons than me, to eat the firstfruits of every sacrifice of my people Israel?

30 “Therefore, this is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], declares: ‘I definitely promised that Aaron and his descendants would continue to serve [IDM] me forever.’ But now I declare this: ‘It will not continue like that! I will honor those who honor me, but I will despise those who despise me.

Wherefore thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father should minister in my sight, for ever. But now saith the Lord: Far be this from me: but whosoever shall glorify me, him will I glorify: but they that despise me, shall be despised.

31 Listen carefully! There will soon be a time when I will cause all the strong [young men] in your family to die. The result will be that no men in your family will [live long enough to] become old men.

Behold the days come: and I will cut off thy arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.

32 You will be distressed and envious as you see the blessings that I will give to [the other people in] Israel. And [I repeat that] no men in your family will ever live long enough to become old men.

And thou shalt see thy rival in the temple, in all the prosperity of Israel, and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever.

33 There is one of your descendants whom I will spare, and not prevent him from serving me as a priest. But he will become blind, and then he will always be sad and grieving. But all your other descendants will die violently.

However I will not altogether take away a man of thee from my altar: but that thy eyes may faint and thy soul be spent: and a great part of thy house shall die when they come to man’s estate.

34 And your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will both die on the same day. And that will prove to you [that all that I have said will come true/happen].

And this shall be a sign to thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, Ophni and Phinees: In one day they shall both of them die.

35 ‘have chosen another man to be my priest. He is one who will serve me faithfully: He will do everything I want [DOU] him to do. And I will enable him to have many descendants [IDM] who will be priests and will always serve me by helping the king whom I will choose.

And I will raise me up a faithful priest, who shall do according to my heart, and my soul, and I will build him a faithful house, and he shall walk all days before my anointed.

36 All of your descendants who remain alive will have to go to that priest and ask him to give them money and food, and they will each have to say, “Please allow me to help the other priests, in order that I may [earn some money to] buy some food.”’”

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall remain in thy house, shall come that he may be prayed for, and shall offer a piece of silver, and a roll of bread, and shall say: Put me, I beseech thee, to somewhat of the priestly office, that I may eat a morsel of bread.