1 Samuel 2

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving

1Then Hannah 1prayed and said, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; 2My 3horn is exalted in the Lord, My mouth 4speaks boldly against my enemies, Because 5I rejoice in Your salvation.26There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, 7there is no one besides You, 8Nor is there any rock like our God.3Do not go on 9boasting so very proudly, 10Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; 11For the Lord is a God of knowledge, 12And 13with Him actions are weighed.414The bows of the mighty are broken to pieces, 15But those who have stumbled strap on strength.5Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to be hungry. 16Even the infertile woman gives birth to seven, But 17she who has many children languishes.618The Lord puts to death and makes alive; 19He brings down to 20Sheol and brings up.721The Lord makes poor and rich; 22He humbles, He also exalts.823He raises the poor from the dust, 24He lifts the needy from the garbage heap 25To seat them with nobles, And He gives them a seat of honor as an inheritance; 26For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the world on them.927He watches over the feet of His godly ones, 28But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; 29For not by might shall a person prevail.1030Those who contend with the Lord will be terrified; 31Against them He will thunder in the heavens, 32The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; 33And He will give strength to His king, 34And will exalt the 35horn of His anointed.”

11Then Elkanah went to his home at 36Ramah. 37But the boy continued to attend to the service of the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

12Now the sons of Eli were 3839useless men; they did not know the Lord. 1340And this was the custom of the priests with the people: when anyone was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was cooking, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 14And he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; everything that the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. They did so in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15Also, before 41they 42burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take cooked meat from you, only raw.” 16And if the man said to him, “They must 43burn the fat 44first, then take as much as 45you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you must give it to me now; and if not, I am taking it by force!” 17And so the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men 46treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.

Samuel before the Lord as a Boy

18Now 47Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy 48wearing a linen ephod. 19And his mother would make for him a little 49robe and bring it up to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer 50the yearly sacrifice. 20Then Eli would 51bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you 52children from this woman in place of the 53one she 54requested of the Lord.” And they went to their own 55home.

215657The Lord indeed visited Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And 58the boy Samuel grew up 59before the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

22Now Eli was very old; and he heard about 60everything that his sons were doing to all Israel, and that they slept with 61the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 23So he said to them, “Why are you doing such things as these, the evil things that I hear from all these people? 24No, my sons; for the report is not good 62which I hear the Lord’s people circulating. 25If one person sins against another, 63God will mediate for him; but 64if a person sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the 65Lord desired to put them to death.

26Now the boy 66Samuel was continuing to grow and to be in favor both with the Lord and with people.

27Then 67a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘68Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? 2869Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me? And did I not 70give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? 29Why are you 7172showing contempt for My sacrifice and My offering 73which I have commanded for My 74dwelling, and why are you 75honoring your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the 76choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ 30Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘77I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father was to walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me--for 78those who honor Me I will honor, and those 79who despise Me will be insignificant. 31Behold, 80the days are coming when I will eliminate your 81strength and the 82strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32And you will look at 83the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that 84I do for Israel; and there will never be an 85old man in your house. 33Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar, 86so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the 87increase of your house will die 88in the prime of life. 34And this will be 89the sign to you which will come in regard to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: 90on the same day both of them will die. 35But 91I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and My soul; and 92I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before 93My anointed always. 36And everyone who is left in your house will come to bow down to him for a 94silver coin or a loaf of bread and say, “Please 95assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”