1 Samuel 2:12-25

12Eli's sons were wicked men. They did not respect the Lord.

13They did not do what the priests should do. People brought sacrifices to offer to the Lord at Shiloh. When the meat was still boiling in a pot, a servant of the priest would come. He would bring a fork that had three points.

14He then pushed the fork into the pot. The priest took for himself any meat that came out on the fork. The priests did that to all the Israelites when they came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices.

15Their servant would even come before the fat was removed from the meat to be burned as a sacrifice. He would say to the person who had brought the sacrifice, ‘Give me some of the meat for the priest to bake. He will not accept meat that has already boiled. He will only accept meat that is fresh.’

16Sometimes, the person said, ‘We must burn the fat first. Then you can take any meat that you want.’ The servant would reply, ‘No. Give the meat to me now, or I will take it from you anyway.’

17The Lord knew what Eli's sons were doing. They did not respect the sacrifices that people were offering to the Lord. The Lord saw that their sin was very bad.

18But Samuel served the Lord faithfully, as a young boy. He wore a linen ephod.

19Every year, Samuel's mother made a little coat for him. She took it to him when she went to Shiloh. She and her husband went there every year to offer their sacrifice to God.

20Each year, Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife. He said, ‘I pray that the Lord will give you more children to take the place of Samuel. Hannah has given her son to serve the Lord, so may she give birth to other children too.’ Then they would return to their own home.

21The Lord blessed Hannah. She gave birth to three more sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel continued to grow as he served at the Lord's house in Shiloh.

22Eli was very old now. He heard about everything that his sons were doing to all the Israelites. He knew that his sons had sex with some of the women helpers. Those women worked at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

23Eli said to his sons, ‘People have told me about all the evil things that you do.

24No, my sons, you should not do these terrible things. The Lord's people all complain about you.

25If you do something bad to another person, God can speak on your behalf. But if you do something bad against the Lord, nobody can speak on your behalf.’ Eli's sons did not listen to their father. The Lord had already decided to kill them.