1 Samuel
Chapter 2
1 Hannah prayed and said, “My heart is happy in God, I am strong in God; my words are bold over my enemies because I am glad for your rescue.”
2 No one is as holy as God; no one else is like you; no other is as strong as our God.
3 Stop speaking so proudly and don’t let arrogance come from your mouth; because God knows everything, and he judges what you do.
4 The strong warriors’ bows are broken, and those who tripped are now strong.
5 People who had plenty now work for food; those who were hungry are not hungry anymore. So, the woman with no children has seven, and the woman with many children has grown weak.
6 God can cause death or give life; He can send people to the grave and raise them up again.
7 God makes some poor and others rich; He humbles some and elevates others.
8 God raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the trash heap to seat them with nobles and to give them a glorious throne. The earth’s foundations belong to God, and he has placed the world on them.
9 God will protect his holy people, and the wicked will be quiet in the dark; no one will succeed by their own power.
10 God’s enemies will be shattered; He will thunder against them from heaven: God will judge the whole world; He will give power to his king and lift up the strength of his chosen one.
11 Elkanah went home to Ramah, and the boy served God in the presence of Eli the priest.
12 Eli’s sons were bad men; they did not know God.
13 When people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s assistant would come with a three-pronged fork while the meat was boiling.
14 He put it into the pan, kettle, cauldron, or pot; whatever the meat hook pulled out, the priest kept for himself. This is what they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.
15 Before they burned the fat, the priest’s helper came and told the person offering the sacrifice, “Give meat to cook for the priest; he doesn’t want boiled meat from you, only uncooked.”
16 If someone told him, “Please burn the fat right away, and then take whatever you want,” he would say, “No, give it to me now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
17 The young men’s sin was very bad in God’s sight because people hated God’s offerings.
18 Samuel served in front of God as a child, wearing a linen garment.
19 His mother made him a small coat and brought it to him every year when she went with her husband to make the annual sacrifice.
20 Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May God give you children from this woman to repay what was given to God.” Then they went to their home.
21 God blessed Hannah, and she became pregnant, giving birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up in the presence of God.
22 Eli was very old and knew what his sons were doing to all of Israel; he knew they slept with the women who gathered at the entrance of the meeting tent.
23 He asked them, “Why are you doing these bad things? Everyone is talking about your evil actions.”
24 No, my sons; it is not a good thing I am told: you make God’s people do wrong.
25 If someone sins against another person, a judge will decide the case. But if someone sins against God, who will plead for them? Yet they did not listen to their father’s warnings, for God intended to punish them.
26 The boy Samuel grew up and was liked by both God and people.
27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what God says: Did I clearly show myself to your father’s family when they were in Egypt, in Pharaoh’s palace?”
28 Did I pick him from all Israel’s tribes to be my priest, to give sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod in my presence? And did I give your father’s family all the Israelites’ fire offerings?
29 Why do you disrespect my sacrifice and the offerings I ordered in my dwelling, and favor your sons over me, getting rich from the best parts of the offerings of Israel, my people?
30 So God, the God of Israel, says, ‘I thought your family and your ancestors would always serve me, but now God declares, ‘That will not happen because I will honor those who honor me, and I will not value those who look down on me.’
31 Look, the time will come when I will end your family power, and no old man will remain in your family.
32 You will see a rival in my home, in all the riches God gives Israel, and you will never have an old man in your family.
33 The man from your family who I won’t remove from serving at my altar will cause you sadness and pain, and all of your descendants will die young.
34 This will be a sign for you: your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will both die on the same day.
35 I will choose a loyal priest who will do what I want and think. I will give him a strong family, and he will serve my chosen one forever.
36 Everyone remaining in your family will approach him, bow down for some money and food, and will ask, “Please give me a priest’s job so I can have some bread to eat.”