English Standard Version
1 Samuel 2:12
12Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord
Context of 1 Samuel 2:12
10The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed." 11Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest. Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. 13The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.
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 reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
- Malachi 2:1"And now, O priests, this command is for you.
- 1 Samuel 10:27But some worthless fellows said, "How can this man save us?" And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
- 1 Samuel 25:17Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him."
- Deuteronomy 13:13that certain worthless fellows have gone out among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not known,
- Judges 19:22As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, "Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him."
- 1 Kings 21:10And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, 'You have cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death."
- 2 Corinthians 6:15What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
- 1 Samuel 3:7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
- Judges 2:10And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
- Jeremiah 2:8The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.
- Jeremiah 22:16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? declares the Lord.
- John 8:55But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.
- John 16:3And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.
- John 17:3And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
- Romans 1:21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries