1 Samuel 2

HANNAH’S TRIUMPHANT PRAYER

2Hannah prayed:^c

My heart rejoices in the Lord;^d

my horn is lifted up by the Lord.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

because I rejoice in your salvation.^e

²There is no one holy like the Lord.^f

There is no one besides you!^g

And there is no rock like our God.^h

³Do not boast so proudly,

or let arrogant words come out of your mouth,

for the Lord is a God of knowledge,

and actions are weighed by him.ⁱ

⁴The bows of the warriors are broken,^j

but the feeble are clothed with strength.^k

⁵Those who are full hire themselves out for food,

but those who are starving hunger no more.

The woman who is childless gives birth to seven,^l

but the woman with many sons pines away.^m

⁶The Lord brings death and gives life;ⁿ

he sends some down to Sheol, and he raises others up.^o

⁷The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth;^p

he humbles and he exalts.^q

⁸He raises the poor from the dust^r and lifts the needy from the trash heap.^s

He seats them with noblemen^t

and gives them a throne of honor.^A

For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;^u

he has set the world on them.^v

⁹He guards the steps^B of his faithful ones,^w

but the wicked perish in darkness,^x

for a person does not prevail by his own strength.^y

¹⁰Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered;^Cz

he will thunder in the heavens against them.^aa

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.^ab

He will give power to his king;

he will lift up the horn of his anointed.^Dac

¹¹Elkanah went home to Ramah,^ad but the boy served the Lord in the presence of the priest Eli.^ae

ELI’S FAMILY JUDGED

¹²Eli’s sons were wicked men;^af they did not respect the Lord^{ag 13}or the priests’ share of the sacrifices from the people. When anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling ¹⁴and plunge it into the container, kettle, cauldron, or cooking pot.^ah The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh. ¹⁵Even before the fat was burned,^ai the priest’s servant would come and say to the one who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he won’t accept boiled meat from you—only raw.” ¹⁶If that person said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself,”^aj the servant would reply, “No, I insist that you hand it over right now. If you don’t, I’ll take it by force!” ¹⁷So the servants’ sin was very severe in the presence of the Lord, because the men treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.^ak

¹⁸Samuel served in the Lord’s presence^al—this mere boy was dressed in the linen ephod.^{am 19}Each year his mother made him a little robe^an and took it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.^{ao 20}Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife:^ap “May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she^E has given to the Lord.”^aq Then they would go home.

²¹The Lord paid attention to Hannah’s need,^ar and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.^as

²²Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel^at and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{au 23}He said to them, “Why are you doing these things? I have heard about your evil actions from all these people. ²⁴No, my sons, the news I hear the Lord’s people spreading is not good. ²⁵If one person sins against another, God can intercede for him, but if a person sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?”^a But they would not listen to their father, since the Lord intended to kill them.^{b 26}By contrast, the boy Samuel grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.^c

²⁷A man of God came to Eli and said to him,^d “This is what the Lord says: ‘Didn’t I reveal myself to your forefather’s family^A when they were in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh’s palace?^{e 28}Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose your house^B to be my priests, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence.^f I also gave your forefather’s family all the Israelite food offerings. ²⁹Why, then, do all of you despise my sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship?^g You have honored your sons more than me,^h by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of my people Israel.’

³⁰“Therefore, this is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I did say that your family and your forefather’s family would walk before me forever.ⁱ But now,’ this is the Lord’s declaration, ‘no longer! For those who honor me I will honor,^j but those who despise me will be disgraced.^{k 31}Look, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your forefather’s family, so that none in your family will reach old age.^{l 32}You will see distress in the place of worship,^m in spite of all that is good in Israel, and no one in your family will ever again reach old age.^{n 33}Any man from your family I do not cut off from my altar will bring grief^C and sadness to you. All your descendants will die violently.^{DE 34}This will be the sign that will come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas:^o both of them will die on the same day.^p

³⁵“ ‘Then I will raise up a faithful priest^q for myself. He will do whatever is in my heart and mind. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him,^r and he will walk before my anointed one for all time.^{s 36}Anyone who is left in your family will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread. He will say: Please appoint me to some priestly office so I can have a piece of bread to eat.’ ”