1 Samuel 2

1 Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.

2 “There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.

3 “Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.

4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.

6 “The Lord brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.

7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.

8 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord ’s;
on them he has set the world.

9 He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
“It is not by strength that one prevails;

10 those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
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 home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.
12 Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord.13 Now it was the practice of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat was being boiled14 and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

15 But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

16 If the person said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”

17 This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord ’s sight, for they were treating the Lord ’s offering with contempt.
18 But Samuel was ministering before the Lord —a boy wearing a linen ephod.19 Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.” Then they would go home.

21 And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
22 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours.24 No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord ’s people is not good.

25 If anyone sins against another human being, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord ’s will to put them to death.

26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.
27 Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to the family of your ancestor when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh?28 I chose your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings presented by the Israelites.

29 Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’
30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that the members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of the members of your family, so that no one in it will reach old age,32 and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age.

33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.
34 “ ‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day.35 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his family line, and he will minister before my anointed one always.

36 Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead, “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.” ’ ”

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.”