1 Samuel 2
2
Hannah’s Prayer
1And Hannah prayed and said,
# For ver. 1-10, see Luke 1:46-53 “My heart exults in the Lord;
# ver. 10; Ps. 75:10; 89:17, 24; 92:10; 112:9; 148:14 my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because #Ps. 9:14; 13:5; 20:5; 35:9I rejoice in your salvation.
2 #
Ex. 15:11; Ps. 86:8; 89:6, 8 “There is none holy like the Lord:
for there is none besides you;
there is #Deut. 32:30, 31no rock like our God.
3Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4 #
Ps. 37:15; 46:9; 76:3 The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble bind on strength.
5Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
#
Ps. 113:9; Isa. 54:1 The barren has borne seven,
#
Jer. 15:9
but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 #
Deut. 32:39
The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 # [Job 1:21] The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
#
Job 5:11; Ps. 75:7 he brings low and he exalts.
8 #
Ps. 113:7, 8; [Dan. 4:17; Luke 1:52] He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap
#
Job 36:7 to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
# [Job 38:4-6; Ps. 24:2; 102:25; 104:5] For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and on them he has set the world.
9 #
Ps. 121:3; Prov. 3:26; [Ps. 91:11] “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 #
Ps. 2:9 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
# ch. 7:10; Ps. 18:13; [2 Sam. 22:14] against them he will thunder in heaven.
#
Ps. 96:10, 13; 98:9 The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king
# ver. 1; [Ps. 89:24] and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
11Then Elkanah went home #ch. 1:19 to Ramah. #ver. 18; ch. 3:1And the boy#2:11 Hebrew na‘ar can be rendered boy (2:11, 18, 21, 26; 3:1, 8), servant (2:13, 15), or young man (2:17), depending on the context was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.
Eli’s Worthless Sons
12Now the sons of Eli were #See ch. 1:16 worthless men. #Judg. 2:10They did not know the Lord. 13The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15Moreover, #Lev. 3:5, 16; 7:23, 25, 31before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” 16And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” 17Thus the sin of the young men was very great #[Gen. 6:11] in the sight of the Lord, #[Mal. 2:8]for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.
18 # ver. 11; ch. 3:1 Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy #Ex. 28:4; 2 Sam. 6:14; 1 Chr. 15:27clothed with a linen ephod. 19And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year #ch. 1:3when she went 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 #ch. 1:28for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.
21 #
Gen. 21:1 Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. #ver. 26; ch. 3:19; [Judg. 13:24; Luke 1:80; 2:40]And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.
Eli Rebukes His Sons
22Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who #Ex. 38:8were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. 25If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, #[Josh. 11:20]for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.
26Now the boy Samuel #Luke 2:52continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.
The Lord Rejects Eli’s Household
27And there came #1 Kgs. 13:1 a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, #[Ex. 3–12]‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? 28#Ex. 28:1; Num. 18:1, 7 Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, #[ch. 14:3; 22:18] to wear an ephod before me? #Lev. 2:3, 10; 6:16; 7:7, 8, 34; 10:14, 15; Num. 5:9, 10; See Num. 18:8-19I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. 29Why then do you #Deut. 32:15scorn#2:29 Hebrew kick at my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ 30Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: #Ex. 27:21; 29:9 ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ #[Jer. 18:9, 10]but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31Behold, #1 Kgs. 2:27; [ch. 4:11, 18, 20; 22:18, 19]the days are 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. 32Then #ch. 4:11; [Judg. 18:30]; See Ps. 78:59-64 in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, #[Zech. 8:4]and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. 33The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his#2:33 Septuagint; Hebrew your; twice in this verse eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants#2:33 Hebrew increase of your house shall die by the sword of men.#2:33 Septuagint; Hebrew die as men 34#1 Kgs. 13:3 And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die #ch. 4:11on the same day. 35#1 Kgs. 2:35; 1 Chr. 29:22 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. #ch. 25:28; 1 Kgs. 11:38; [2 Sam. 7:11, 27] And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before #2 Sam. 22:51; Ps. 18:50; [Ps. 89:20]my anointed forever. 36And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests’ places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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1 Samuel 2
2
1Hannah prayed, “I'm so happy in the Lord! He has empowered me! Now I have plenty to say in answer to those who hate me. I celebrate your salvation! 2There's no one holy like the Lord—no one apart from you, no Rock like our God!
3Don't speak so conceitedly! Don't talk so arrogantly! For the Lord is a God who knows everything—doesn't he judge what you do?
4The weapons#2:4. “Weapons”: literally, “bow.” of the powerful are shattered, while those who stumble along are made strong. 5Those who used to have plenty of food now have to work to earn a crust, while those who used to be hungry now have become fat. The woman who was childless now has seven children, while the woman with many children fades away.
6The Lord kills and he revives; he sends some down to the grave, but he raises others up. 7The Lord makes some poor, but others rich; he brings some down, but he lifts others up. 8He helps the poor up from the dust; he raises the lowborn from the trash pile and seats them with the upper class in places of honor. For the foundations of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the world on them.
9He will take care of those who trust him, but the wicked vanish into the darkness, for people don't succeed through their own strength. 10The Lord crushes his enemies, he thunders against them from heaven. He rules#2:10. “Rules”: or “judges.” the whole earth; he strengthens his king, and gives power to the one he has anointed.”
11Then Elkanah went home to Ramah while the boy stayed with Eli the priest serving the Lord.
12Eli's sons were worthless men who didn't have any time for the Lord 13or their role as priests to the people. They would send one of their servants over with a fork when anyone came to offer a sacrifice. 14The servant would stick the fork into the pot while the meat from the sacrifice was being boiled, and would take whatever meat came up on the fork to Eli's sons. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15In fact even before the fat of the sacrifice was burned up the servant would come and would demand from the man sacrificing, “Give me meat to roast for the priest. He doesn't want boiled meat from you—he wants it raw.”
16The man might answer, “Let me first burn up all the fat, and then you can have as much as you want.”
But the priest's servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me now. If you don't, I'll take it by force.” 17The sins of these young men were extremely serious from the Lord's perspective because they were treating with contempt the Lord's offerings.
18But Samuel served before the Lord—a boy dressed as a priest,#2:18. “Dressed as a priest”: added for clarity wearing a linen ephod. 19Every year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. 20Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to replace the one she prayed for and dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would return home. 21The Lord blessed#2:21. “Blessed”: literally, “Paid attention to.” Hannah with three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
22Eli was very old, however he had heard about all the things his sons were doing to the people of Israel, and how they were seducing the women who were serving at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 23He asked them, “Why are you doing all this? I keep on hearing from everyone about your evil actions. 24No, my sons, the report I hear about you from the Lord's people isn't good. 25If a man sins against someone, God can intercede for him; but if a man sin against the Lord, who is going to intercede for him?” But they didn't pay attention to what their father said, for the Lord was planning to put them to death.
26The boy Samuel grew physically, and also grew in the approval of both the Lord and the people.
27A man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the Lord says: Didn't I very clearly reveal myself to your forefather's family when they were ruled by Pharaoh in Egypt? 28I chose him#2:28. Referring to Aaron. out of all the tribes of Israel as my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave to your forefather's family all the Israelites' offerings made with fire. 29So why have you treated with contempt my sacrifices and offerings that I have ordered for my place of worship? You honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves with the best parts of all the offerings from my people Israel.
30Consequently, this is the declaration of the Lord: I made a definite promise that your family and your father's family would always serve me as priests. But now the Lord declares: Not anymore! Instead I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me I will treat with contempt. 31The time is coming when I will bring your family and your father's family to an end.#2:31. “Bring your family… to an end”: literally, “cut off your strength.” No one will live to an old age. 32You will see tragedy in the place of worship.#2:32. Perhaps referring to the loss of the Ark to the Philistines. While Israel will prosper, no one in your family will ever again reach old age. 33Anyone of your family not cut off from serving at my altar will make your eyes weep and cause you grief. All your descendants will die when full of life. 34Here is a sign for you that this will happen regarding your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: both will die on the same day. 35I will choose for myself a trustworthy priest who will do what I really want, what I have in mind. I will make sure he and his descendants are trustworthy and they will always serve my anointed one. 36Every one of your descendants who is left will come and bow down to him, asking for money and food, saying, ‘Please give me work as a priest so that I can have food to eat.’”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com