I Samuel 2

¹And Hannah, in prayer before the Lord, said, My heart is glad in the Lord, my horn is lifted up in the Lord: my mouth is open wide over my haters; because my joy is in your salvation.

²No other is holy as the Lord, for there is no other God but you: there is no Rock like our God.

³Say no more words of pride; let not uncontrolled sayings come out of your mouths: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, by him acts are judged.

⁴The bows of the men of war are broken, and the feeble are clothed with strength.

⁵Those who were full are offering themselves as servants for bread; those who were in need are at rest; truly, she who had no children has become the mother of seven; and she who had a family is wasted with sorrow.

⁶The Lord is the giver of death and life: sending men down to the underworld and lifting them up.

⁷The Lord gives wealth and takes a man's goods from him: crushing men down and again lifting them up;

⁸Lifting the poor out of the dust, and him who is in need out of the lowest place, to give them their place among rulers, and for their heritage the seat of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and he has made them the base of the world.

⁹He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the evil-doers will come to their end in the dark night, for by strength no man will overcome.

¹⁰Those who make war against the Lord will be broken; against them he will send his thunder from heaven: the Lord will be judge of the ends of the earth, he will give strength to his king, lifting up the horn of him on whom the holy oil has been put.

¹¹Then Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child became the servant of the Lord under the direction of Eli the priest.

¹²Now the sons of Eli were evil and good-for-nothing men, having no knowledge of the Lord.

¹³And the priests' way with the people was this: when any man made an offering, the priest's servant came while the flesh was being cooked, having in his hand a meat-hook with three teeth;

¹⁴This he put into the pot, and everything which came up on the hook the priest took for himself. This they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

¹⁵And more than this, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was making the offering, Give me some of the flesh to be cooked for the priest; he has no taste for meat cooked in water, but would have you give it uncooked.

¹⁶And if the man said to him, First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you will; then the servant would say, No, you are to give it to me now, or I will take it by force.

¹⁷And the sin of these young men was very great before the Lord; for they gave no honour to the Lord's offerings.

¹⁸But Samuel did the work of the Lord's house, while he was a child, dressed in a linen ephod.

¹⁹And his mother made him a little robe and took it to him every year when she came with her husband for the year's offering.

²⁰And every year Eli gave Elkanah and his wife a blessing, saying, May the Lord give you offspring by this woman in exchange for the child you have given to the Lord. And they went back to their house.

²¹And the Lord had mercy on Hannah and she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the young Samuel became older before the Lord.

²²Now Eli was very old; and he had news from time to time of what his sons were doing to all Israel.

²³And he said to them, Why are you doing such things? for from all this people I get accounts of your evil ways.

²⁴No, my sons, the account which is given me, which the Lord's people are sending about, is not good.

²⁵If one man does wrong to another, God will be his judge: but if a man's sin is against the Lord, who will take up his cause? But they gave no attention to the voice of their father, for it was the Lord's purpose to send destruction on them.

²⁶And the young Samuel, becoming older, had the approval of the Lord and of men.

²⁷And a man of God came to Eli and said to him, The Lord says, Did I let myself be seen by your father's people when they were in Egypt, servants in Pharaoh's house?

²⁸Did I take him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest and to go up to my altar to make the smoke of the offerings go up and to take up the ephod? Did I give to your father's family all the offerings made by fire by the children of Israel?

²⁹Why then are you looking with envy on my offerings of meat and of meal which were ordered by my word, honouring your sons before me, and making yourselves fat with all the best of the offerings of Israel, my people?

³⁰For this reason the Lord God of Israel has said, Truly I did say that your family and your father's people would have their place before me for ever: but now the Lord says, Let it not be so; I will give honour to those by whom I am honoured, and those who have no respect for me will be of small value in my eyes.

³¹See, the days are coming when your arm and the arm of your father's people will be cut off;

³²And never again will there be an old man in your family.

³³But one man of your family will not be cut off by my hand, and his eyes will be made dark, and grief will be in his heart: and all the offspring of your family will come to their end by the sword of men.

³⁴And this will be the sign to you, which will come on Hophni and Phinehas, your sons; death will overtake them on the same day.

³⁵And I will make a true priest for myself, one who will do what is in my heart and in my mind: and I will make for him a family which will not come to an end; and his place will be before my holy one for ever.

³⁶Then it will be that the rest of your family, anyone who has not been cut off, will go down on his knees to him for a bit of silver or a bit of bread, and say, Be pleased to put me into one of the priest's places so that I may have a little food.

I Samuel 2

¹Hannah prayed, and said: "My heart exults in the Lord! My horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.

²There is no one as holy as the Lord, For there is no one besides you, nor is there any rock like our God.

³"Talk no more so exceeding proudly. Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth, For the Lord is a God of knowledge. By him actions are weighed.

⁴"The bows of the mighty men are broken. Those who stumbled are armed with strength.

⁵Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread. Those who were hungry are satisfied. Yes, the barren has borne seven. She who has many children languishes.

⁶"The Lord kills, and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.

⁷The Lord makes poor, and makes rich. He brings low, he also lifts up.

⁸He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's. He has set the world on them.

⁹He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; for no man shall prevail by strength.

¹⁰Those who strive with the Lord shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in the sky. "The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed."

¹¹Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. The child served the Lord before Eli the priest.

¹²Now the sons of Eli were base men; they did not know the Lord.

¹³The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a fork of three teeth in his hand;

¹⁴and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

¹⁵Yes, before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, "Give meat to roast for the priest; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but raw."

¹⁶If the man said to him, "Let the fat be burned first, and then take as much as your soul desires"; then he would say, "No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force."

¹⁷The sin of the young men was very great before the Lord; for they despised the offering of the Lord.

¹⁸But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, clothed with a linen ephod.

¹⁹Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

²⁰Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, "The Lord give you seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of the Lord." They went to their own home.

²¹The Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. The child Samuel grew before the Lord.

²²Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that they lay with the women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

²³He said to them, "Why do you do such things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.

²⁴No, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: you make the Lord's people disobey.

²⁵If one man sin against another, God shall judge him; but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him?" Notwithstanding, they did not listen to the voice of their father, because the Lord intended to kill them.

²⁶The child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with the Lord, and also with men.

²⁷A man of God came to Eli, and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, I plainly revealed myself to the house of your father, when they were slaves in Egypt to the house of Pharaoh.

²⁸And I chose 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 I gave to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire.

²⁹Why do you kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honor your sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel my people?'

³⁰"Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, 'I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever.' But now the Lord says, 'Be it far from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

³¹Behold, the days come, that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father's house, that there shall not be an old man in your house.

³²You shall see the affliction of my habitation, in all the wealth which I shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.

³³The man of yours, whom I shall not cut off from my altar, shall consume your eyes, and grieve your heart; and all the increase of your house shall die in the flower of their age.

³⁴"'This shall be the sign to you, that shall come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall both die.

³⁵I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my anointed forever.

³⁶It shall happen, that everyone who is left in your house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, "Please put me into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread."'"