1 Samuel 2

1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.2 There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside 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 the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.s4 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 ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.6 The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.7 The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them.9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall 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 the Lord before Eli the priest.

12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.13 And the priests' custom 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;14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.15 Also 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 sodden flesh of thee, but raw.16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.s17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.

18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, 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, The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord. And they went unto their own home.s21 And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.s23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.s24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord's people to transgress.s25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.

27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, 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 thine house.32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.s33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.s34 And this shall be a 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 mine 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 thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.ss

1 Samuel 2

Hannah’s Prayer

1 Hannah prayed out loud,“My heart finds joy in the Lord.My head is lifted to the Lord.My mouth mocks my enemies.I rejoice because you saved me.2 There is no one holy like the Lord.There is no one but you, O LORD.There is no Rock like our God.3 “Do not boastor let arrogance come out of your mouthbecause the Lord is a God of knowledge,and he weighs our actions.4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,but those who stumble are armed with strength.5 Those who were well-fed hire themselves out for a piece of bread,but those who were hungry hunger no more.Even the woman who was childless gives birth to seven children,but the mother of many children grieves all alone.6 “The Lord kills, and he gives life.He makes people go down to the grave, and he raises them up again.7 The Lord causes poverty and grants wealth.He humbles people; he also promotes them.8 He raises the poor from the dust.He lifts the needy from the trash heapin order to make them sit with noblesand even to make them inherit a glorious throne.“The pillars of the earth are the Lord’s.He has set the world on them.9 He safeguards the steps of his faithful ones,but wicked people are silenced in darknessbecause humans cannot succeed by their own strength.10 “Those who oppose the Lord are broken into pieces.He thunders at them from the heavens.The Lord judges the ends of the earth.He gives strength to his Kingand lifts the head of his Messiah.”t11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy Samuel served the Lord under the priest Eli.

The Sins of Eli’s Sons

12 Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the Lord.13 Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand.14 Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up from the pot belonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there to sacrifice.

15 But in the case of Eli’s sons, even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw.”
16 If the man said to the servant, “First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want,” the servant would say to him, “Give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.”

17 The sin of Eli’s sons was a serious matter to the Lord, because these men were treating the offerings made to the Lord with contempt.

The Faithfulness of Samuel’s Family

18 Meanwhile, Samuel continued to serve in front of the Lord. As a boy he was already wearing a linen ephod.t

19 His mother would make him a robe and bring it to him every year when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.
20 Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.21 The Lord came to Hannah. She became pregnant five times and had three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in front of the Lord.

Eli’s Family Condemned

22 Now, Eli was very old, and he had heard everything that his sons were doing to all Israel and that they were sleeping with the women who served at the gate of the tent of meeting.23 So he asked them, “Why are you doing such things? I hear about your wicked ways from all these people.24 Sons, the report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading isn’t good!

25 If one person sins against another, God will take care of him. However, when a person sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?” But they wouldn’t listen to their father’s warning—the Lord wanted to kill them.
26 The boy Samuel continued to grow and gained the favor of the Lord and the people.27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were under Pharaoh’s control in Egypt.28 I chose one of your ancestors out of all the tribes of Israel to serve as my priest, to sacrifice burnt offerings on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod in my presence. And I gave your ancestors the right to keep portions of the sacrifices that the people of Israel burned on the altar.

29 Why do you show no respect for my sacrifices and grain offerings that I have commanded people to make in my dwelling place? Why do you honor your sons more than me by making yourselves fat on the best of all the sacrifices offered by my people Israel?
30 “Therefore, the Lord God of Israel declares: I certainly thought that your family and your father’s family would always live in my presence.“But now the Lord declares: I promise that I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me will be considered insignificant.31 The time is coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that no one will grow old in your family.32 You will see distress in my dwelling place. In spite of the good that I do for Israel, no one in your family will live to an old age.33 Any man in your family whom I do not remove from my altar will have his eyes fail, and het will be heartbroken. And all your descendants will die in the prime of life.34 What is going to happen to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you: Both of them will die on the same day.35 Then I will appoint a faithful priest to serve me. He will do everything I want him to do. I will give him faithful descendants, and he will always live as my anointed one.

36 Then anyone who is left from your household will bow down in front of him to get a coin or a loaf of bread and say, ‘Please appoint me to one of the priestly classes so that I may eat a piece of bread.’ ”