1 Samuel 2:12–36

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

¹²Now the sons of Eli were ^1aworthless men; they did not know the Lord

^13aand the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

¹⁴Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

¹⁵Also, before ^athey burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.”

¹⁶If the man said to him, “They must surely ¹burn the fat ²first, and then take as much as ³you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.”

¹⁷Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men ^adespised the offering of the Lord.

Samuel before the Lord as a Boy

¹⁸Now ^aSamuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy ^1bwearing a linen ephod.

¹⁹And his mother would make him a little ^arobe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer ^bthe yearly sacrifice.

²⁰Then Eli would ^abless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you ¹children from this woman in place of ²the one she ^bdedicated to the Lord.” And they went to their own ³home.

^21aThe Lord visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And ^bthe boy Samuel grew before the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

²²Now Eli was very old; and he heard ^aall that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with ^bthe women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

²³He said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people?

²⁴“No, my sons; for the report is not good ^awhich I hear ¹the Lord’s people circulating.

²⁵“If one man sins against another, ^aGod will mediate for him; but ^bif a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the ^cLord desired to put them to death.

²⁶Now the boy ^aSamuel ¹was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.

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

²⁸‘^aDid 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 ^cdwelling, and ^dhonor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ¹choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’

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

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

³²‘You will see ^athe distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that ¹I do for Israel; and an ^bold man will not be in your house forever.

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 die ²in the prime of life.

³⁴‘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 die.

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 an enduring house, and he will walk before ^cMy anointed always.

³⁶‘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.” ’ ”