Revised Version 1895
1 Samuel 2:12
12Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not 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
10They that strive with the LORD shall be broken to pieces; against them shall he thunder in heaven: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. 11And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest. Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. 13And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; 14and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
Read all of 1 Samuel 21 Samuel 2:12 word by word
וּבְנֵ֥י עֵלִ֖י בְּנֵ֣י בְלִיָּ֑עַל לֹ֥א יָדְע֖וּ אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 2:12
- Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children.
- Malachi 2:1And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
- 1 Samuel 10:27But certain sons of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
- 1 Samuel 25:17Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house: for he is such a son of Belial, that one cannot speak to him.
- Deuteronomy 13:13Certain base fellows are gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
- Judges 19:22As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.
- 1 Kings 21:10and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he die.
- 2 Corinthians 6:15And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever?
- 1 Samuel 3:7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
- Judges 2:10And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the work which he had wrought for Israel.
- Jeremiah 2:8The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
- Jeremiah 22:16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was not this to know me? saith the LORD.
- John 8:55and ye have not known him: but I know him; and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be like unto you, a liar: but I know him, and keep his word.
- John 16:3And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
- John 17:3And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.
- Romans 1:21because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was 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
Revised Version 1895 — 1895 — Public Domain
Commentaries