1 SamuelChapter 2

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¹Then Hannah prayed:
"My heart is full of joy in the LORD.
In the LORD my horn is lifted high.
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
because I am glad you saved me.a ²No one is holy like the LORD.
There is no one but you!
There is no Rock like our God. ³Stop talking so proudly.
Don't let bragging come out of your mouth.
For the LORD is a God who knows.
He weighs what people do. ⁴The bows of strong soldiers are broken.
But those who were weak are given strength. ⁵People who were full now work for food.
But those who were starving are hungry no more.
The woman who had no children has seven.
But the woman with many sons wastes away. ⁶The LORD brings death and gives life.
He brings people down to the grave and raises them up.b ⁷The LORD makes some poor and some rich.
He brings people down, and he lifts them up. ⁸He lifts the poor up from the dust.
He raises the needy from the pile of ashes.
He seats them with princes.
He gives them a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth belong to the LORD.
He has set the world on them. ⁹He guards the steps of his faithful people.
But the wicked will perish in darkness.
For no one wins by his own strength. ¹⁰Those who fight against the LORD will be broken to pieces.
He will thunder against them from heaven.
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give power to his king.
He will lift high the horn of his anointed one." ¹¹Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy began serving the LORD under Eli the priest. ¹²Now Eli's sons were wicked men. They did not care about the LORD. ¹³They did not care about the priests' rules for the people either. When anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant came while the meat was boiling. He held a fork with three prongs in his hand. ¹⁴He would stab it into the pan or kettle or big pot or cooking pot. Whatever the fork brought up, the priest kept for himself. They did this to all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. ¹⁵Even before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come. He would say to the man offering the sacrifice, "Give the priest some meat to roast. He won't take boiled meat from you. He only wants it raw." ¹⁶The man might say to him, "The fat must be burned first. Then you can take whatever you want." But the servant would answer, "No, give it to me right now. If you don't, I'll take it by force!" ¹⁷So these young men's sin was very great in the LORD's eyes. They were treating the LORD's offering with contempt. ¹⁸But Samuel was serving the LORD. He was a boy wearing a linen ephod.c ¹⁹Every year his mother made him a little robe. She brought it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife. He would say, "May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she gave to the LORD." Then they would go home. ²¹And the LORD was kind to Hannah. She became pregnant and had three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD. ²²Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel. He heard how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ²³Eli said to his sons, "Why are you doing these things? I hear from all these people about the evil things you do. ²⁴No, my sons! The report I hear going around among the LORD's people is not good. ²⁵If a man sins against another man, God can step in for him. But if a man sins against the LORD, who can step in for him?" But Eli's sons would not listen to their father, because the LORD had decided to put them to death. ²⁶And the boy Samuel kept growing taller. He kept growing in favor with the LORD and with people. ²⁷Then a man of God came to Eli. He told him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Your father's family lived in Egypt under Pharaoh's rule. Didn't I clearly show myself to them then? ²⁸I chose your father out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest. He was to offer sacrifices on my altar and burn incense. He was to wear an ephod in front of me. I also gave your father's family all the food offerings of the Israelites. ²⁹So why do you kick at my sacrifices and offerings? I commanded them for the place where I live. You honor your sons more than me. You make yourselves fat on the best parts of every offering my people Israel bring.' ³⁰So the LORD, the God of Israel, says this: 'I did promise that your family would serve me forever. Your father's family would walk before me always. But now the LORD says: Never! For I will honor those who honor me. But those who look down on me will be looked down on. ³¹Listen! The time is coming when I will cut off your strength. I will cut off the strength of your father's family. No one in your family will live to be old. ³²You will see trouble in the place where I live. Good things will come to Israel. But no one in your family will ever again live to be old. ³³I will not cut off every one of you from serving at my altar. But those I leave will have eyes that fail and hearts full of sorrow. All your children after you will be killed by the swords of men. ³⁴Here is a sign for you about your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They will both die on the same day. ³⁵Then I will raise up a faithful priest for myself. He will do whatever is in my heart and mind. I will give him a family line that lasts. He will serve before my anointed one for all time. ³⁶Then everyone left in your family will come and bow down to him. They will beg for a piece of silver or a bit of bread. They will say, "Please give me some job as a priest so I can have a piece of bread to eat."'"