1 Samuel 2:27–36

The Lord Rejects Eli’s Household

²⁷And there came ^oa man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ^p‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? ^28qDid I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, ^rto wear an ephod before me? ^sI gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. ²⁹Why then do you ^tscorn² my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ ³⁰Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ^v‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ ^wbut now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. ³¹Behold, ^xthe days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³²Then ^yin distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, ^zand there shall not be an old man in your house forever. ³³The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his³ eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants⁴ of your house shall die by the sword of men.^{5 34a}And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die ^bon the same day. ^35cAnd I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. ^dAnd I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before ^emy anointed forever. ³⁶And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests’ places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.” ’ ”