1 Samuel 2

1 And Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exulteth in Jehovah; My horn is exalted in Jehovah; My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; Because I rejoice in thy salvation.

2 There is none holy as Jehovah; For there is none besides thee, Neither is there any rock like our God.

3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; For Jehovah is a God of knowledge, And by him actions are weighed.

4 The bows of the mighty men are broken; And they that stumbled are girded with strength.

5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; And they that were hungry have ceased to hunger: Yea, the barren hath borne seven; And she that hath many children languisheth.

6 Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up.

7 Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, he also lifteth up.

8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, And inherit the throne of glory: For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah’s, And he hath set the world upon them.

9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones; But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; For by strength shall no man prevail.

10 They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces; Against them will he thunder in heaven: Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth; And he will give strength unto his king, And exalt the horn of his anointed.

11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto Jehovah before Eli the priest.

12 Now the sons of Eli were base men; they knew not Jehovah.13 And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand;14 and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.15 Yea, before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have boiled flesh of thee, but raw.16 And if the man said unto him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would say, Nay, but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.17 And the sin of the young men was very great before Jehovah; for the men despised the offering of Jehovah.

18 But Samuel ministered before Jehovah, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.19 Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, Jehovah give thee seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of Jehovah. And they went unto their own home.21 And Jehovah visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before Jehovah.

22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did unto all Israel, and how that they lay with the women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting.23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make Jehovah’s people to transgress.25 If one man sin against another, God shall judge him; but if a man sin against Jehovah, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because Jehovah was minded to slay them.26 And the child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with Jehovah, and also with men.

27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Did I reveal myself unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house?28 and did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up unto mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?30 Therefore Jehovah, the God of Israel, saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now Jehovah saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.32 And thou shalt behold the affliction of my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever.33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart; and all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age.34 And this shall be the sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them.35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.

1 SAMUEL 2

1  t Hannah prayed:
You make me strong
and happy, [Lord].
You rescued me.
Now I can be glad
and laugh at my enemies.

2 No other godt is like you.
And with you we are safer
than on a high mountain.t

3 I can tell those proud people,
“Stop your boasting!
Nothing is hidden from the [Lord],
and he judges what we do.”

4 Our [Lord], you break
the bows of warriors,
but you give strength
to everyone who stumbles.

5 People who once
had plenty to eat
must now hire themselves out
for only a piece of bread.
But you give the hungry more
than enough to eat.
A woman did not have a child,
and you gave her seven,
but a woman who had many
was left with none.

6  t You take away life,
and you give life.
You send people down
to the world of the dead
and bring them back again.

7 Our [Lord], you are the one
who makes us rich or poor.
You put some in high positions
and bring disgrace on others.

8 You lift the poor and homeless
out of the garbage dump
and give them places of honor
in royal palaces.
You set the world on foundations,
and they belong to you.

9 You protect your loyal people,
but everyone who is evil
will die in darkness.
We cannot win a victory
by our own strength.

10 Our [Lord], those who attack you
will be broken in pieces
when you fight back
with thunder from heaven.
You will judge the whole earth
and give power and strength
to your chosen king.

Samuel Stays with Eli

11 Elkanah and Hannah went back home to Ramah, but the boy Samuel stayed to help Eli serve the [Lord].

Eli's Sons

15 Sometimes, when people were offering sacrifices, the servant would come over, even before the fat had been cut off and sacrificed to the [Lord].t
Then the servant would tell them, “The priest doesn't want his meat boiled! Give him some raw meat that he can roast!”

16 Usually the people answered, “Take what you want. But first, let us sacrifice the fat to the [Lord].”
“No,” the servant would reply. “If you don't give it to me now, I'll take it by force.”

17 Eli's sons did not show any respect for the sacrifices that the people offered. This was a terrible sin, and it made the [Lord] very angry.

Hannah Visits Samuel

19 and the clothest his mother made for him. She brought new clothes every year, when she and her husband came to offer sacrifices at Shiloh.

20 Eli always blessed Elkanah and his wife and said, “Samuel was born in answer to your prayers. Now you have given him to the [Lord]. I pray that the [Lord] will bless you with more children to take his place.” After Eli had blessed them, Elkanah and Hannah would return home.

21 The [Lord] was kind to Hannah, and she had three more sons and two daughters. But Samuel grew up at the [Lord]'s house in Shiloh.

Eli Warns His Sons

25 If you harm another person, God can help make things right between the two of you. But if you commit a crime against the [Lord], no one can help you!”
But the [Lord] had already decided to kill them. So he kept them from listening to their father.

A Prophet Speaks //to Eli

26  t Each day, as Samuel grew older, the [Lord] was pleased with him, and so were the people.

27 One day a prophet came to Eli and gave him this message from the [Lord]:
When your ancestors were slaves of the king of Egypt, I came and showed them who I am.

28-29 t Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose your family to be my priests. I wanted them to offer sacrifices and burn incense to me and to find out from me what I want my people to do. I commanded everyone to bring their sacrifices here where I live, and I allowed you and your family to keep those that were not offered to me on the altar.
But you honor your sons instead of me! You don't respectt the sacrifices and offerings that are brought to me, and you've all grown fat from eating the best parts.
30 I am the [Lord], the God of Israel. I promised to always let your family serve me as priests, but now I tell you that I cannot do this any longer! I honor anyone who honors me, but I put a curse on anyone who hates me.

31 The time will come when I will kill you and everyone else in your family. Not one of you will live to an old age.
32 Your familyt will have a lot of trouble. I will be kind to Israel, t but everyone in your family will die young. 33 If I let anyone from your family be a priest, hist life will be full of sadness and sorrow. But most of the men in your family will die a violent death!t

34 t To prove to you that I will do these things, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day.
35 I have chosen someone else to be my priest, someone who will be faithful and obey me. I will always let his family serve as priests and help my chosen king. 36 But if anyone is left from your family, he will come to my priest and beg for money or a little bread. He may even say to my priest, “Please let me be a priest, so I will at least have something to eat.”