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
1 "My heart exults in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies. For I have rejoiced in your salvation.
2 Nothing is holy as the Lord is holy. For there is no other beside you. And nothing is strong as our God is strong.
3 Do not continue speaking of great things, boasting. Let what is old depart from your mouth. For the Lord is the God of knowledge, and thoughts are prepared for him.
4 The bow of the powerful has been overwhelmed, and the weak have been girded with strength.
5 Those who before were filled, have hired themselves out for bread. And the starving have been filled, so that the barren have given birth to many. But she who had borne many sons has become unable.
6 The Lord brings death, and he gives life. He leads away to death, and he brings back again.
7 The Lord impoverishes, and he enriches. He humbles, and he lifts up.
8 He raises up the indigent from the dust, and he lifts up the poor from filth, so that they may sit with princes, and take hold of a throne of glory. For the hinges of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the globe upon them.
9 He will preserve the feet of his holy ones, and the impious will be silenced in darkness. For no man will prevail by his own strength.
10 The adversaries of the Lord will dread him. And over them, he will thunder in the heavens. The Lord will judge the parts of the earth, and he will give dominion to his king, and he will lift up the horn of his Christ."
11 And Elkanah went away to Ramah, to his house. But the boy was a minister in the sight of the Lord, before the face of Eli, the priest.
12 But the sons of Eli were sons of Belial, not knowing the Lord,
13 nor the priestly office for the people. And so, no matter who had immolated a victim, the servant of the priest would arrive, while the flesh was still cooking, and he would take a three-pronged hook in his hand,
14 and put it into the vessel, or into the cauldron, or into the cooking pot, or into the pan, and all that the hook lifted up, the priest took for himself. So they did to all of Israel who arrived at Shiloh.
15 In addition, before they burned the fat, the servant of the priest would arrive, and he would say to the one who was immolating: "Give me the flesh, so that I may boil it for the priest. For I will not accept cooked meat from you, but raw."
16 And the one who was immolating would say to him, "First, allow the fat to be burned today, according to custom, and then take for yourself whatever your soul desires." But in response, he would say to him: "By no means. For you will give it to me now, otherwise I will take it by force."
17 Therefore, the sin of the servants was exceedingly great before the Lord. For they drew men away from the sacrifice of the Lord.
18 But Samuel was ministering before the face of the Lord; he was a youth girded with a linen ephod.
19 And his mother fashioned a little tunic for him, which she brought to him on the appointed days, ascending with her husband, so that he might immolate the solemn sacrifice.
20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife. And he said to him, "May the Lord repay to you offspring from this woman, on behalf of the loan that you offered to the Lord." And they went away to their own place.
21 Then the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the youth Samuel was magnified with the Lord.
22 Now Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons were doing to all of Israel, and how they were sleeping with the women who were waiting at the door of the tabernacle.
23 And he said to them: "Why are you doing these kinds of things, very wicked things, that I have heard from all the people?
24 My sons, do not be willing. For it is no good report that I am hearing, so that you would cause the people of the Lord to transgress.
25 If a man has sinned against a man, God may be able to be appeased over him. But if a man has sinned against the Lord, who will pray for him?" But they did not listen to the voice of their father, that the Lord was willing to kill them.
26 But the youth Samuel advanced, and grew up, and he was pleasing to the Lord, as well as to men.
27 Then a man of God went to Eli, and he said to him: "Thus says the Lord: Was I not revealed openly to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh?
28 And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel for myself as priest, so that he might ascend to my altar, and burn incense to me, and wear the ephod before me. And I gave to the house of your father all the sacrifices of the sons of Israel.
29 Why have you kicked away my victims and my gifts, which I instructed to be offered in the temple? And why have you given more honor to your sons than to me, so that you eat the first-fruits of every sacrifice of my people Israel?
30 Because of this, the Lord God of Israel says: I have spoken clearly, so that your house, and the house of your father, may minister in my sight, even forever. But now the Lord says: May this be far from me. Instead, whoever will have glorified me, I will glorify him. But whoever despises me, they will be despised.
31 Behold the days are arriving, when I will cut off your arm, and the arm of the house of your father, so that there will not be an old man in your house.
32 And you will see your rival in the temple, amid all the prosperity of Israel. And there will not be an old man in your house for all days.
33 Yet truly, I will not entirely take away a man of you from my altar, but such that your eyes may fail, and your soul may melt away, and a great part of your house may die out, as it pertains to the state of men.
34 But this will be a sign to you, which will happen to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on one day they both will die.
35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will act in accord with my heart and my soul. And I will build a faithful house for him. And he will walk before my Christ for all days.
36 Then this will be in the future, that whoever will have remained of your house, he will approach so that he may pray on his behalf. And he will offer a coin of silver, and a twist of bread. And he will say: 'Permit me, I beg you, one part of the priestly office, so that I may eat a mouthful of bread.' "
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