1 Samuel 2

Hannah’s Triumphant Prayer

2Hannah prayed: ^d

My heart rejoices in the Lord; ^e

my horn is lifted up by the Lord.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

because I rejoice in Your salvation. ^f

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

There is no one besides You! ^h

And there is no rock like our God. ⁱ

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. ^j

⁴The bows of the warriors are broken, ^k

but the feeble are clothed with strength. ^l

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, ^m

but the woman with many sons pines away. ⁿ

⁶The Lord brings death and gives life; ^o

He sends some to Sheol, and He raises others up. ^p

⁷The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth; ^q

He humbles and He exalts. ^r

⁸He raises the poor from the dust ^s

and lifts the needy from the garbage pile. ^t

He seats them with noblemen ^u

and gives them a throne of honor. ^v

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

He has set the world on them. ^x

⁹He guards the steps ^yof His faithful ones, ^z

but the wicked perish in darkness, ^a

for a man does not prevail by his own strength. ^b

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

He will thunder in the heavens against them. ^e

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

He will give power to His king;

He will lift up the horn of His anointed. ^g

¹¹Elkanah went home to Ramah, ^hbut the boy served the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest. ⁱ

Eli’s Family Judged

¹²Eli’s sons were wicked men; ^jthey had no regard for the Lord ^k13or for the priests’ share of the sacrifices from the people. When any man 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 or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. ^lThe 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, ^mthe priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he won’t accept boiled meat from you—only raw.” ¹⁶If that man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself,” ⁿthe 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 they treated the Lord’s offering with contempt. ^o

¹⁸The boy Samuel served in the Lord’s presence ^pand wore a linen ephod. ^q19Each year his mother made him a little robe ^rand took it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. ^s20Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife: ^t“May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she ^uhas given to the Lord.” ^vThen they would go home.

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

²²Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel ^yand how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ^z23He said to them, “Why are you doing these things? I have heard about your evil actions from all these people. ²⁴No, my sons, the report I hear from the Lord’s people is not good. ²⁵If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him, but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” ^aBut they would not listen to their father, since the Lord intended to kill them. ^b26By contrast, the boy Samuel grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men. ^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 ancestral house when it was in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh’s palace? ^e28Out of all the tribes of Israel, I selected your house ^fto be priests, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. ^gI also gave your house all the Israelite fire offerings. ²⁹Why, then, do all of you despise My sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship? ^hYou have honored your sons more than Me, ⁱby 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:

‘Although I said

your family and your ancestral house

would walk before Me forever, ^j

the Lord now says, “No longer!”

I will honor those who honor Me, ^k

but those who despise Me will be disgraced. ^l

³¹“ ‘Look, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestral family, so that none in your family will reach old age. ^m32You will see distress in the place of worship, ⁿin spite of all that is good in Israel, and no one in your family will ever again reach old age. ^o33Any man from your family I do not cut off from My altar will bring grief ^pand sadness to you. All your descendants will die violently. ^qr34This will be the sign that will come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: ^sboth of them will die on the same day. ^t

³⁵“ ‘Then I will raise up a faithful priest ^ufor Myself. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him, ^vand he will walk before My anointed one for all time. ^w36Anyone 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.’ ”