1 Samuel 2

Hannahs Prayer

1 And Hannah prayed and said: And Hannah prayed and said: My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.2 No one is holy like the Lord, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.3 Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength.5  Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble.6 The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up.7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.8 He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lords, And He has set the world upon them.9 He will guard the feet of His saints, But the wicked shall be silent in darkness. For by strength no man shall prevail.10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.11 Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Wicked Sons of Eli

12 Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.13 And the priests custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priests servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling.14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.15 Also, before they burned the fat, the priests servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.16 And if the man said to him, They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires, he would then answer him, No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.

Samuels Childhood Ministry

18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod.19 Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.20 And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, The Lord give you descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the Lord. Then they would go to their own home.21 And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

Prophecy Against Elis Household

22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.23 So he said to them, Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.24 No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lords people transgress.25 If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him? Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them.26 And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the Lord and men.27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaohs house?28 Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?29 Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?30 Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the Lord says: Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.31 Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your fathers house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.32 And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house forever.33 But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age.34 Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them.35 Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.36 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, Please, put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece 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.”