1 Samuel 2:27–36

Eli Honors His Sons Above Yahweh

²⁷Then ^aa man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘^bDid I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, enslaved to Pharaoh’s house?

²⁸‘^aAnd did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not ^bgive to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?

²⁹‘Why do you ^akick at My sacrifice and at My offering ^bwhich I have commanded in My ^chabitation, and ^dhonor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ¹choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’

³⁰“Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, declares, ‘^aI did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now Yahweh declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for ^bthose who honor Me I will honor, and those ^cwho despise Me will be cursed.

³¹‘Behold, ^athe days are coming, and I will break your ¹strength and the ²strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house.

³²‘And you will look upon ^athe distress of My habitation, in spite of all the good that ¹I do for Israel; and an ^bold man will not be in your house all the days.

³³‘Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar ¹so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will be put to death ²in the prime of life.

³⁴‘Now this will be ^athe sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: ^bon the same day both of them will be put to death.

³⁵‘But ^aI will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and ^bI will build him a faithful house, and he will walk before ^cMy anointed always.

³⁶‘And it will be that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a ¹piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please ²assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”