1 Samuel 2
2
Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving
1Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart rejoices and triumphs in the Lord;
My horn (strength) is lifted up in the Lord,
My mouth has opened wide [to speak boldly] against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
2“There is no one holy like the Lord,
There is no one besides You,
There is no Rock like our God.
3“Do not go on boasting so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And by Him actions are weighed (examined).
4“The bows of the mighty are #2:4 Or filled with terror.broken,
But those who have stumbled equip themselves with strength.
5“Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease [to hunger].
Even the barren [woman] gives birth to seven,
But she who has many children withers away.
6“The Lord puts to death and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol (the grave) and raises up [from the grave].
7“The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
He brings low and He lifts up.
8“He raises up the poor from the dust,
He lifts up the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor and glory;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the land on them.
9“He guards the feet of His godly (faithful) ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced and perish in darkness;
For a man shall not prevail by might.
10“The adversaries of the Lord will be broken to pieces;
He will thunder against them in the heavens,
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His #2:10 This would first apply to Saul, whom Samuel would anoint as king of Israel (10:1), and then to David (16:13) and other earthly kings. Ultimately it can be applied to Christ, who will rule over Israel and the world.king,
And will exalt the horn (strength) of His anointed.” [Luke 1:46]
11Elkanah [and his wife Hannah] returned to Ramah to his house. But the child [Samuel] served the Lord #2:11 Lit in the presence of.under the guidance of Eli the priest.
The Sin of Eli’s Sons
12The sons of Eli [Hophni and Phinehas] were #2:12 Lit sons of Belial.worthless (dishonorable, unprincipled) men; they did not know [nor respect] the Lord 13and the custom of the priests with [the sacrifices of] the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged [meat] fork in his hand; 14then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; everything that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did in Shiloh to all [the sacrifices of] the #2:14 In general, sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites refers to all the people (males and females) of the various tribes descended from the twelve sons (Gen 35:23-26) of Jacob (later renamed Israel by God). In verses concerning things such as warfare or circumcision sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites usually refers only to the males. Tribes of ancient people were identified by the name of their founding ancestor. Therefore, this same general rule applies when referring to individual tribal groups, e.g. sons of Reuben, Reuben, Reubenites and so throughout.Israelites who came there. 15Also, before they burned (offered) the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat to roast, since he will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw.” 16If the man said to him, “#2:16 The Law of Moses required all the fat to be burned on the altar as an offering to God (Lev 3:16), so the worshiper would be reluctant to agree to the priest’s demand.Certainly they are to burn (offer) the fat first, and then you may take as much as #2:16 Lit your soul wants.you want,” then the priest’s servant would say, “No! You shall give it to me now or I will take it by force.” 17So the sin of the [two] young men [Hophni and Phinehas] was very great before the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.
Samuel before the Lord as a Boy
18Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a child dressed in a linen ephod [a sacred item of priestly clothing]. 19Moreover, his mother would make him a little robe and would bring it up to him each year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she asked for which was dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would return to their own home.
21And [the time came when] the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.
Eli Rebukes His Sons
22Now Eli was very old; and he heard about everything that his sons were doing to all [the people of] Israel, and how they were lying with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). 23Eli said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? 24No, my sons; for the report that I keep hearing from the passers-by among the Lord’s people is not good. 25If one man does wrong and sins against another, God will intercede (arbitrate) for him; but if a man does wrong to the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, #2:25 Sometimes, when a person has deliberately and repeatedly violated God’s law, God may allow him to be even more determined to continue his sinful ways.for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.
26But the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.
27Then a man of God (prophet) came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Did I not plainly reveal Myself to the house of your father (ancestor) when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? 28Moreover, #2:28 From the tribe of Levi God designated Aaron and his descendants to serve as priests.I selected him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me. And [from then on] I gave to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel. 29Why then do you kick at (despise) My sacrifice and My offering which I commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, by fattening yourselves with the choicest part of every offering of My people Israel?’ 30Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and that of [Aaron] your father would walk [in priestly service] before Me forever.’ But now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be insignificant and contemptible. 31Behold, the time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32You will look at the distress of My #2:32 Lit dwelling.house (the tabernacle), in spite of all the good which God will do for Israel, and there will never again be an old man in your house. 33Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar; your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul will grieve, and all those born in your house will die as men [in the prime of life]. [1 Sam 22:17-20] 34This will be the sign to you which shall come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them shall die. [1 Sam 4:17, 18] 35But I will raise up for Myself a #2:35 This person is not identified by name, but most scholars consider this prophecy fulfilled by Zadok, a priest during the reign of King David, who became high priest under Solomon. His descendants continued in service to God for many generations.faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him a permanent and enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed #2:35 Lit all the days.forever. [1 Sam 2:10] 36And it will happen that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and say, “Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”
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1 Samuel 2
2
Hannah Gives Thanks
1Hannah said:
“The Lord has filled my heart with joy.
I feel very strong in the Lord.
I can laugh at my enemies.
I am glad because you have helped me!
2“There is no one holy like the Lord.
There is no God but you.
There is no Rock like our God.
3“Don’t continue bragging.
Don’t speak proud words.
The Lord is a God who knows everything.
He judges what people do.
4“The bows of warriors break,
but weak people become strong.
5Those who once had plenty of food now must work for food.
But people who once were hungry now grow fat on food.
The woman who was unable to have children now has had seven.
But the woman who had many sons now is sad.
6“The Lord causes people to die,
and he causes them to live.
He brings people down to where the dead are,
and he raises them to life again.
7The Lord makes people poor,
and he makes people rich.
He makes people humble,
and he makes people great.
8The Lord raises the poor up from the dust.
And he picks needy people up from the ashes.
He lets the poor sit with princes.
He lets them sit on a throne of honor.
“The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord.
The Lord set the world upon them.
9He protects his holy people.
But those who do evil will be silenced in darkness.
Their power will not help them win.
10The Lord destroys his enemies.
He will thunder in heaven against them.
The Lord will judge all the earth.
He will give power to his king.
He will make his appointed king strong.”
Eli’s Evil Sons
11Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy continued to serve the Lord under Eli the priest.
12Now Eli’s sons were evil men. They did not care about the Lord. 13This is what the priests would do to the people: Every time someone brought a sacrifice, the meat would be cooked in a pot. The priest’s servant would then come with a fork in his hand. The fork had three prongs. 14He would plunge the fork into the pot or the kettle. Whatever the fork brought out of the pot belonged to the priest. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices. 15But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come to the person offering sacrifices. The servant would say, “Give the priest some meat to roast. The priest won’t accept boiled meat from you. He will only accept raw meat.”
16But the man who offered the sacrifice might say, “Let the fat be burned up first as usual. Then you may take anything you want.”
If so, the priest’s servant would answer, “No, give me the meat now. If you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
17The Lord saw that the sin of the servants was very great. They did not show respect for the offerings made to the Lord.
Samuel Grows Up
18But Samuel obeyed the Lord. He wore a linen holy vest. 19Every year Samuel’s mother would make a little coat for him. She would take it to him when she went to Shiloh. She went there with her husband for the sacrifice. 20Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife. Eli would say, “May the Lord repay you with children through Hannah. They will take the place of the boy Hannah prayed for and gave back to the Lord.” Then Elkanah and Hannah would go home. 21The Lord was kind to Hannah. She became the mother of three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up serving the Lord.
22Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all the Israelites. He also heard about how his sons had physical relations with the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 23Eli said to his sons, “The people here tell me about the evil you do. Why do you do these evil things? 24No, my sons. The Lord’s people are saying bad things about you. 25If someone sins against another person, God can help him. But if he sins against the Lord himself, no one can help him!” But Eli’s sons would not listen to him. This was because the Lord had decided to put them to death.
26The boy Samuel kept growing. He pleased God and the people.
27A man of God came to Eli. He said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I clearly showed myself to the family of your ancestor Aaron. This was when they were slaves to the king of Egypt. 28I chose them from all the tribes of Israel to be my priests. I wanted them to go up to my altar, to burn incense and to wear the holy vest. I also let the family of your ancestor have part of all the offerings sacrificed by the Israelites. 29So why don’t you respect the sacrifices and gifts? You honor your sons more than me. You become fat on the best parts of the meat the Israelites bring to me.’
30“Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I promised that your family and your ancestor’s family would serve me forever.’ But now the Lord says this: ‘That will never be! I will honor those who honor me. But I will take honor away from those who do not honor me. 31The time is coming when I will destroy the descendants of both you and your ancestors. No man will grow old in your family. 32You will see trouble in my house. Good things will be done to Israel. But there will never be an old man in your family. 33I will save one man to serve as priest at my altar. He will wear out his eyes and use up his strength. The rest of your descendants will die by the sword.
34“‘I will give you a sign. Both your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day. 35I will choose a loyal priest for myself. He will listen to me and do what I want. I will make his family strong. He will always serve before my appointed king. 36Then everyone left in your family will come and bow down before him. They will beg for a little money or a little food. They will say, “Please give me a job as priest so I can have food to eat.”’”
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.