1 Samuel

¹Hannah prayed and said: 'My heart rejoices in the LORD; he has lifted me up. I can speak boldly against my enemies because I delight in your deliverance.'

²'No one is holy like the LORD — there is no one besides you. There is no rock like our God.'

³'Stop your proud and arrogant talk. Let no boasting come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows everything, and he weighs every action.'

⁴'The weapons of the strong are shattered, while those who stumbled are strengthened.'

⁵'Those who had plenty now hire themselves out for bread, while the hungry are fed and satisfied. The woman who was barren has given birth to seven children, while the mother of many is left desolate.'

⁶'The LORD gives life and takes it away. He brings people to the grave and raises them up again.'

⁷'The LORD makes people poor and makes them rich. He humbles some and elevates others.'

⁸'He lifts the poor out of the dust and raises the needy from the ash heap, seating them among princes and giving them places of honor. For the foundations of the earth belong to the LORD, and he has set the world on them.'

⁹'He guards the steps of his faithful ones, but the wicked are silenced in darkness. No one succeeds by their own strength alone.'

¹⁰'Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed one.'

¹¹Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah, and the young Samuel continued serving the LORD under Eli the priest.

¹²Eli's sons were corrupt men who had no regard for the LORD.

¹³The priests' practice with the people was this: whenever someone brought a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come while the meat was still boiling, holding a large three-pronged fork.

¹⁴He would plunge the fork into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan, and whatever it brought up, the priest kept for himself. This is what they did to all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

¹⁵Even before the fat was burned on the altar, the priest's servant would come and demand raw meat from the person making the sacrifice, saying the priest wanted it roasted, not boiled.

¹⁶If anyone said, 'Let the fat be burned first, then take whatever you want,' the servant would refuse: 'No, hand it over right now, or I will take it by force.'

¹⁷The sin of these young men was very serious in the LORD's sight, because they were treating the LORD's offerings with contempt.

¹⁸But Samuel was serving the LORD — even as a boy — wearing a linen ephod.

¹⁹His mother made him a small robe and brought it to him each year when she came up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

²⁰Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, 'May the LORD give you children through this woman to replace the son she dedicated to the LORD.' And they would go back home.

²¹The LORD was gracious to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three more sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the young Samuel grew up in the LORD's presence.

²²Eli was very old by now. He kept hearing reports about everything his sons were doing to all of Israel, including how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tabernacle.

²³He said to them, 'Why do you keep doing these things? All of Israel is reporting your evil behavior.'

²⁴'Stop this, my sons! The report I hear spreading among the LORD's people is not good.'

²⁵'When someone sins against another person, God can mediate. But when someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede?' But Eli's sons refused to listen to their father, because the LORD had decided to put them to death.

²⁶Meanwhile, the young Samuel continued to grow and was held in high regard by both the LORD and the people.

²⁷A man of God came to Eli and said, 'This is what the LORD says: When your ancestors were in Egypt as slaves of Pharaoh, I revealed myself to them.'

²⁸'I chose your family from all the tribes of Israel to be my priests, to serve at my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod. I also gave your family all the offerings brought by fire from the Israelites.'

²⁹'So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings that I have prescribed for my dwelling place? You honor your sons more than me, fattening yourselves on the best parts of every offering from my people Israel.'

³⁰'Therefore, the LORD God of Israel declares: I once promised that your family would serve before me forever. But now I declare — far from it! I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me will be held in contempt.'

³¹'The time is coming when I will cut off your family line — no one in your household will live to old age.'

³²'You will watch in distress as I pour blessings on Israel, and there will never be an elderly man left in your family.'

³³'Any of your descendants I spare from serving at my altar will waste away from grief and sorrow. All your other descendants will die in the prime of their lives.'

³⁴'And here is the sign to prove it: both of your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day.'

³⁵'Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who will do what is in my heart and my mind. I will build him a lasting family line, and he will serve before my anointed king for all time.'

³⁶'Everyone who is left in your family will come begging to this priest for a coin and a piece of bread, pleading, Please give me a place in the priesthood so I can at least have something to eat.'