1 Samuel 2
2
The Song of Hannah
1 #
Luke 1.46-55. And Hannah prayed, and said,
My heart rejoiceth in the Lord,
mine horn is exalted in the Lord;
my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies;
because I rejoice in thy salvation.
2 There is none holy as the Lord:
for there is none besides thee:
neither is there any rock like our God.
3Talk no more so exceeding proudly;
let not arrogancy come out of your mouth:
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4The bows of the mighty men are broken,
and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread;
and they that were hungry ceased:
so that the barren hath borne seven;
and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
6The Lord killeth, and maketh alive:
he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
7The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich:
he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill,
to set them among princes,
and to make them inherit the throne of glory:
for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and he hath set the world upon them.
9He will keep the feet of his saints,
and the wicked shall be silent in darkness;
for by strength shall no man prevail.
10The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
out of heaven shall he thunder upon them:
the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth;
and he shall give strength unto his king,
and exalt the horn of his anointed.
11And Elka´nah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.
The Sins of Eli's Sons
12Now the sons of Eli were sons of Be´li-al; they knew not the Lord. 13And the priest's custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; 14and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. 15Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. 16And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. 17Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.
18But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. 19Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20And Eli blessed Elka´nah and his wife, and said, The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord. And they went unto their own home.
21And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.
22Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 23And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. 24Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord's people to transgress. 25If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.
26And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord, and also with men.
27And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? 28#Exod 28.1-4; Lev 7.35,36. And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? 29Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? 30Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 32And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. 33And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. 34And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phin´ehas; in one day they shall die both of them. 35And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. 36And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
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1 Samuel 2: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
1 Samuel 2
2
1 #
Lk 1.46-55. Hannah prayed:
You make me strong
and happy, Lord.
You rescued me.
Now I can be glad
and laugh at my enemies.
2No other god#2.2 god: The Hebrew text has “holy one,” a term for supernatural beings or gods. is like you.
And with you we are safer
than on a high mountain.#2.2 mountain: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 2.
3I can tell those proud people,
“Stop your boasting!
Nothing is hidden from the Lord,
and he judges what we do.”
4Our Lord, you break
the bows of warriors,
but you give strength
to everyone who stumbles.
5People who once
had plenty to eat
must now hire themselves out
for only a piece of bread.
But you give the hungry more
than enough to eat.
A woman did not have a child,
and you gave her seven,
but a woman who had many
was left with none.
6 #
Ws 16.13; Tb 13.2. You take away life,
and you give life.
You send people down
to the world of the dead
and bring them back again.
7Our Lord, you are the one
who makes us rich or poor.
You put some in high positions
and bring disgrace on others.
8You lift the poor and homeless
out of the garbage dump
and give them places of honor
in royal palaces.
You set the world on foundations,
and they belong to you.
9You protect your loyal people,
but everyone who is evil
will die in darkness.
We cannot win a victory
by our own strength.
10Our Lord, those who attack you
will be broken in pieces
when you fight back
with thunder from heaven.
You will judge the whole earth
and give power and strength
to your chosen king.
Samuel Stays with Eli
11Elkanah and Hannah went back home to Ramah, but the boy Samuel stayed to help Eli serve the Lord.
Eli's Sons
12-13Eli's sons were priests, but they were dishonest and refused to obey the Lord. So, while people were boiling the meat from their sacrifices, these priests would send over a servant with a large, three-pronged fork. 14The servant would stick the fork into the cooking pot, and whatever meat came out on the fork was taken back to Eli's two sons. That was how they treated every Israelite who came to offer sacrifices in Shiloh. 15Sometimes, when people were offering sacrifices, the servant would come over, even before the fat had been cut off and sacrificed to the Lord.#2.15 sacrificed to the Lord: The fat belonged to the Lord and was supposed to be burned as a sacrifice before the rest of the animal was cooked and eaten (see Leviticus 3.3,4,9,10,14,15).
Then the servant would tell them, “The priest doesn't want his meat boiled! Give him some raw meat that he can roast!”
16Usually the people answered, “Take what you want. But first, let us sacrifice the fat to the Lord.”
“No,” the servant would reply. “If you don't give it to me now, I'll take it by force.”
17Eli's sons did not show any respect for the sacrifices that the people offered. This was a terrible sin, and it made the Lord very angry.
Hannah Visits Samuel
18The boy Samuel served the Lord and wore a special linen garment#2.18 a special linen garment: Either a loin cloth or a jacket or a vest worn only by priests. 19and the clothes#2.19 clothes: The Hebrew word means a sleeveless coat or robe that was worn by priests. Samuel was a small child, but his mother made him clothes just like those worn by priests. his mother made for him. She brought new clothes every year, when she and her husband came to offer sacrifices at Shiloh.
20Eli always blessed Elkanah and his wife and said, “Samuel was born in answer to your prayers. Now you have given him to the Lord. I pray that the Lord will bless you with more children to take his place.” After Eli had blessed them, Elkanah and Hannah would return home.
21The Lord was kind to Hannah, and she had three more sons and two daughters. But Samuel grew up at the Lord's house in Shiloh.
Eli Warns His Sons
22Eli was now very old, and he heard what his sons were doing to the people of Israel.#2.22 Israel: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text adds “He heard that his sons were even sleeping with the women who worked at the entrance to the sacred tent.” 23-24“Why are you doing these awful things?” he asked them. “I've been hearing nothing but complaints about you from all of the Lord's people. 25If you harm another person, God can help make things right between the two of you. But if you commit a crime against the Lord, no one can help you!”
But the Lord had already decided to kill them. So he kept them from listening to their father.
A Prophet Speaks to Eli
26 #
Si 46.13; Lk 2.52. Each day, as Samuel grew older, the Lord was pleased with him, and so were the people.
27One day a prophet came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord:
When your ancestors were slaves of the king of Egypt, I came and showed them who I am. 28-29#Ex 28.1-4; Lv 7.35,36. Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose your family to be my priests. I wanted them to offer sacrifices and burn incense to me and to find out from me what I want my people to do. I commanded everyone to bring their sacrifices here where I live, and I allowed you and your family to keep those that were not offered to me on the altar.
But you honor your sons instead of me! You don't respect#2.28,29 don't respect: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation “are greedy for.” the sacrifices and offerings that are brought to me, and you've all grown fat from eating the best parts.
30I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I promised to always let your family serve me as priests, but now I tell you that I cannot do this any longer! I honor anyone who honors me, but I put a curse on anyone who hates me. 31The time will come when I will kill you and everyone else in your family. Not one of you will live to an old age.
32Your family#2.32 Your family: Or “My house of worship.” will have a lot of trouble. I will be kind to Israel,#2.31,32 Not one … to Israel: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation do not have these words. but everyone in your family will die young. 33If I let anyone from your family be a priest, his#2.33 his: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “your.” life will be full of sadness and sorrow. But most of the men in your family will die a violent death!#2.33 die a violent death: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “die.” 34#1 S 4.11. To prove to you that I will do these things, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day.
35I have chosen someone else to be my priest, someone who will be faithful and obey me. I will always let his family serve as priests and help my chosen king. 36But if anyone is left from your family, he will come to my priest and beg for money or a little bread. He may even say to my priest, “Please let me be a priest, so I will at least have something to eat.”
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.