Christian Standard Bible
1 Samuel 2:12
12Eli’s sons were wicked men; they did not respect the Lord
1 Samuel 2:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.
- New International Version (NIV)Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.
Context of 1 Samuel 2:12
10Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered; he will thunder in the heavens against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give power to his king; he will lift up the horn of his anointed. 11Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy served the Lord in the presence of the priest Eli. Eli’s sons were wicked men; they did not respect the Lord 13or the priests’ share of the sacrifices from the people. When anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling 14and plunge it into the container, kettle, cauldron, or cooking pot. The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh.
Read all of 1 Samuel 21 Samuel 2:12 word by word
וּבְנֵ֥י עֵלִ֖י בְּנֵ֣י בְלִיָּ֑עַל לֹ֥א יָדְע֖וּ אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 2:12
- Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.
- Malachi 2:1“Therefore, this decree is for you priests:
- 1 Samuel 10:27But some wicked men said, “How can this guy save us?” They despised him and did not bring him a gift, but Saul said nothing.
- 1 Samuel 25:17Now consider carefully what you should do, because there is certain to be trouble for our master and his entire family. He is such a worthless fool nobody can talk to him!”
- Deuteronomy 13:13that wicked men have sprung up among you, led the inhabitants of their city astray, and said, ‘Let’s go and worship other gods,’ which you have not known,
- Judges 19:22While they were enjoying themselves, all of a sudden, wicked men of the city surrounded the house and beat on the door. They said to the old man who was the owner of the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him!”
- 1 Kings 21:10Then seat two wicked men opposite him and have them testify against him, saying, “You have cursed God and the king!” Then take him out and stone him to death.
- 2 Corinthians 6:15What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
- 1 Samuel 3:7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
- Judges 2:10That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel.
- Jeremiah 2:8The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord?” The experts in the law no longer knew me, and the rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
- Jeremiah 22:16He took up the case of the poor and needy; then it went well. Is this not what it means to know me? This is the Lord’s declaration.
- John 8:55You do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word.
- John 16:3They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or me.
- John 17:3This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent — Jesus Christ.
- Romans 1:21For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 2:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12The sons of Eli were sons of Belial - They were perverse, wicked, profligate men; devil's children. They knew not the Lord. "They know! nor would an angel show Him; They would not know, nor choose to know Him." These men were the principal cause of all the ungodliness of Israel. Their most execrable conduct, described 1 Samuel 2:13-17, caused the people to abhor the Lord's offering. An impious priesthood is the grand cause of the transgressions and ruin…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Sons of Belial - See the marginal reference note. The phrase is very frequent in the books of Samuel. In the New Testament, Paul contrasts Christ and Belial, as if Belial were the name of an idol or the personification of evil 2 Corinthians 6:15. This probably led to the use of the term “Belial” in the the King James Version, instead of expressing its meaning, which is “mischief, wickedness.”Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-26Verses 11-26 Samuel, being devoted to the Lord in a special manner, was from a child employed about the sanctuary in the services he was capable of. As he did this with a pious disposition of mind, it was called ministering unto the Lord. He received a blessing from the Lord. Those young people who serve God as well as they can, he will enable to improve, that they may serve him better. Eli shunned trouble and exertion. This led him to indulge his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12wicked men (Hebrew sons of Belial): See study note on 1:16. had no regard for (literally did not know) the LORD: Even though they were priests among God's people, they ignored God and did not follow his will (compare Jeremiah 2:8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial--not only careless and irreligious, but men loose in their actions, and vicious and scandalous in their habits. Though professionally engaged in sacred duties, they were not only strangers to the power of religion in the heart, but they had thrown off its restraints, and even ran, as is sometimes done in similar cases by the sons of eminent ministers, to the opposite extreme of reckless and open profligacy.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 2:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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