Judges 21 - 1 Samuel 2

New American Standard Bible

Mourning a Lost Tribe

21 Now the men of Israel ^(A)had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin ^[a]in marriage.” ^2 (B)So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and raised their voices and wept ^[b]profusely. ³ And they said, “Why, Lord, God of Israel, has this happened in Israel, that one tribe is missing today from Israel?” ⁴ And it came about the next day that the people got up early and built ^(C)an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵ Then the sons of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not go up to the Lord in the assembly?” For ^[c]they had taken a solemn oath concerning anyone ^(D)who did not go up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, “He shall certainly be put to death.” ⁶ And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin, and said, “Today one tribe is cut off from Israel! ⁷ What are we to do for wives for those who are left, since we have ^(E)sworn by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives?”

Provision for Their Survival

⁸ And they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not go up to the Lord at Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. ⁹ For when the people were ^[d]counted, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. ¹⁰ And the congregation sent twelve thousand ^[e]of the valiant warriors there, and commanded them, saying, “Go and ^(F)strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, along with the women and the children. ¹¹ And this is the thing that you shall do: you ^(G)shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has ^[f]slept with a male.” ¹² And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man by ^[g]sleeping with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³ Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were ^(H)at the rock of Rimmon, and ^(I)proclaimed peace to them. ¹⁴ And the tribe of Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had allowed to live from the women of Jabesh-gilead; but they ^[h]were not enough for them. ¹⁵ And the people were sorry for Benjamin, because the Lord had created a gap in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶ Then the elders of the congregation said, “What are we to do for wives for those who are left, since the women have been eliminated from Benjamin?” ¹⁷ And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be wiped out from Israel. ¹⁸ But we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the sons of Israel ^(J)had sworn, saying, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin!”

¹⁹ So they said, “Behold, there is a feast of the Lord from year to year in ^(K)Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah.” ²⁰ And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, ²¹ and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to ^[i](L)take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall seize his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. ²² And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we shall say to them, ‘^[j]Give them to us voluntarily, because we did not take for each man of Benjamin ^[k]a wife in battle, ^[l](M)nor did you give them to them, ^[m]otherwise you would now be guilty.’” ²³ The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they seized. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and ^(N)rebuilt the cities and lived in them. ²⁴ And the sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one departed from there to his inheritance.

^25 (O)In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Naomi Widowed

1 Now it came about in the days ^(P)when the judges ^[n]governed, that there was ^(Q)a famine in the land. And a man ^(R)of Bethlehem in Judah went to reside in the land of Moab ^[o]with his wife and his two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. So they ^(S)entered the land of Moab and remained there. ³ Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ And they took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other, Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. ⁵ Then ^[p]both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶ Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, because she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had ^(T)visited His people by ^(U)giving them food. ⁷ So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸ But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to ^[q]your mother’s house. ^(V)May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹ May the Lord grant that you may find a place of rest, each one in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept. ¹⁰ However, they said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹ But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that ^(W)they may be your husbands? ¹² Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons, ¹³ would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because ^(X)the hand of the Lord has come out against me.”

Ruth’s Loyalty

¹⁴ And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵ Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her ^(Y)gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May ^(Z)the Lord do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates ^[r]me from you.” ¹⁸ When ^(AA)she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.

¹⁹ So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, ^(AB)all the city was stirred because of them, and ^[s]the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰ But she said to them, “Do not call me ^[t]Naomi; call me ^[u]Mara, for ^[v](AC)the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹ I went away full, but ^(AD)the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and ^[w]the Almighty has afflicted me?”

²² So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at ^(AE)the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth Gleans in Boaz’s Field

2 Now Naomi had ^[x]a relative of her husband, a ^[y]man of great wealth, of the family of ^(AF)Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. ² And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and ^(AG)glean among the ears of grain following one in whose eyes I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³ So she left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and ^[z]she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. ⁴ Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “^(AH)May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.” ⁵ Then Boaz said to his servant who was ^[aa]in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” ⁶ And the servant ^[ab]in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. ⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”

⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “^[ac]Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but join my young women here. ⁹ Keep your eyes on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have ordered the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the ^[ad]water jars and drink from what the servants draw.” ¹⁰ Then she ^(AI)fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” ¹¹ Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. ^12 (AJ)May the Lord reward your ^[ae]work, and may your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(AK)under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” ¹³ Then she said, “I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken ^[af]kindly to your servant, though I am not like one of your female servants.”

¹⁴ And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “^[ag]Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied ^(AL)and had some left. ¹⁵ When she got up to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not ^[ah]insult her. ¹⁶ Also you are to purposely slip out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it so that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

¹⁷ So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ^[ai]ephah of barley. ¹⁸ And she picked it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took some out and ^(AM)gave ^[aj]Naomi what she had left after ^[ak]she was satisfied. ¹⁹ Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who ^(AN)took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” ²⁰ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “^(AO)May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living and from the dead.” Again Naomi said to her, “The man is our relative; he is one of our ^(AP)redeemers.” ²¹ Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “^[al]Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You are to stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.’” ²² And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not assault you in another field.” ²³ So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until ^(AQ)the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Boaz Will Redeem Ruth

3 Then her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek ^[am]security for you, that it may go well for you? ² Now then, is Boaz not ^(AR)our relative, with whose young women you were? Behold, he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor tonight. ³ Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not reveal yourself to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ And it shall be when he lies down, that you shall ^[an]take notice of the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you should do.” ⁵ And she said to her, “^(AS)All that you say I will do.”

⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. ⁷ When Boaz had eaten and drunk and ^(AT)his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and ^[ao]bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹ So he said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your slave. Now spread your garment over your slave, for you are a redeemer.” ¹⁰ Then he said, “^(AU)May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first, by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ So now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you say, for all ^[ap]my people in the city know that you are ^(AV)a woman of excellence. ¹² But now, although it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is also a redeemer more closely related than I. ¹³ Remain this night, and when morning comes, ^(AW)if he will ^[aq]redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to ^[ar]redeem you, then I will redeem you, ^(AX)as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, and got up before one person could recognize another; and he said, “^(AY)Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵ Again he said, “Give me the shawl that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then ^[as]she went into the city. ¹⁶ When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “^[at]How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷ She also said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” ¹⁸ Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter ^[au]turns out; for the man will not rest until he has ^[av]settled it today.”

The Marriage of Ruth

4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, ^(AZ)the redeemer of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Come over here, ^[aw]friend, sit down here.” And he came over and sat down. ² Then he took ten men of the ^(BA)elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. ³ And he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, has to sell the plot of land ^(BB)which belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴ So I thought that I would ^[ax]inform you, saying, ‘^(BC)Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if ^[ay]not, tell me so that I may know; for ^(BD)there is no one except you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” ⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order ^(BE)to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” ⁶ Then ^(BF)the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, otherwise I would ^[az]jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, since I cannot redeem it.”

⁷ Now this was ^(BG)the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the way of confirmation in Israel. ⁸ So the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. ⁹ Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰ Furthermore, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so ^(BH)that the name of the deceased will not be eliminated from his brothers or from the ^[ba]court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” ¹¹ And all the people who were ^[bb]in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home ^(BI)like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve ^[bc]wealth in Ephrathah and ^[bd]become famous in Bethlehem. ¹² Moreover, may your house be like the house of ^(BJ)Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the ^[be]descendants whom the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he had relations with her. And ^(BK)the Lord ^[bf]enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ Then the ^(BL)women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name ^[bg]become famous in Israel. ¹⁵ May he also be to you one who restores life and sustains your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you ^[bh](BM)and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

The Line of David

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and ^[bi]laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. ¹⁷ And the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸ Now these are the generations of Perez: ^(BN)Perez fathered Hezron, ¹⁹ Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab, ²⁰ and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon, ²¹ and Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed, ²² and Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Elkanah and His Wives

1 Now there was a man from ^(BO)Ramathaim-zophim from the ^(BP)hill country of Ephraim, and his name was ^(BQ)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² And he had ^(BR)two wives: the name of one was ^(BS)Hannah and the name of the ^[bj]other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³ Now this man would go up from his city ^(BT)yearly ^(BU)to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of armies in ^(BV)Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there. ⁴ When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he ^(BW)would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; ⁵ but to Hannah he would give a double portion, because he loved Hannah, ^(BX)but the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶ Her rival, moreover, ^(BY)would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷ And it happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, that she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. ⁸ Then Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why is your heart sad? ^(BZ)Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

⁹ Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^(CA)the ^[bk]temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ She, ^[bl]greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. ¹¹ And she ^(CB)made a vow and said, “Lord of armies, if You will indeed ^(CC)look on the affliction of Your bond-servant and remember me, and not forget Your bond-servant, but will give Your bond-servant a ^[bm]son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and ^(CD)a razor shall never come on his head.”

¹² Now it came about, as she ^[bn]continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ As for Hannah, ^(CE)she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were quivering, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought that she was drunk. ¹⁴ Then Eli said to her, “^(CF)How long will you behave like a drunk? Get rid of your wine!” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman ^[bo]despairing in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I ^(CG)have poured out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not ^[bp]consider your bond-servant a useless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, “^(CH)Go in peace; and may the God of Israel ^(CI)grant your request that you have asked of Him.” ¹⁸ She said, “^(CJ)Let your bond-servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way and ate, and ^(CK)her face was no longer sad.

Samuel Is Born to Hannah

¹⁹ Then they got up early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in ^(CL)Ramah. And Elkanah ^[bq]had relations with Hannah his wife, and ^(CM)the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ It came about ^[br]in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “^(CN)Because I have asked for him of the Lord.”

²¹ Then the man Elkanah ^(CO)went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go until the child is weaned; then I will ^(CP)bring him, so that he may appear before the Lord and ^(CQ)stay there for life.” ^23 (CR)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do ^[bs]what seems best to you. Stay until you have weaned him; only ^(CS)may the Lord confirm His word.” So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, ^(CT)she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull, one ephah of flour, and a jug of wine, and brought him to ^(CU)the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. ²⁵ Then ^(CV)they ^[bt]slaughtered the bull, and ^(CW)brought the boy to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “Pardon me, my lord! ^(CX)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. ^27 (CY)For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my request which I asked of Him. ^28 (CZ)So I have also ^[bu]dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is ^[bv]dedicated to the Lord.” And ^(DA)he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving

2 Then Hannah ^(DB)prayed and said,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went to his home at ^(EE)Ramah. ^(EF)But the boy continued to attend to the service of the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^[cc](EG)useless men; they did not know the Lord. ^13 (EH)And this was the custom of the priests with the people: when anyone was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was cooking, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ And he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; everything that the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. They did so in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before ^(EI)they ^[cd]burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take cooked meat from you, only raw.” ¹⁶ And if the man said to him, “They must ^[ce]burn the fat ^[cf]first, then take as much as ^[cg]you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you must give it to me now; and if not, I am taking it by force!” ¹⁷ And so the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men ^(EJ)treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.

Samuel before the Lord as a Boy

¹⁸ Now ^(EK)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy ^(EL)wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And his mother would make for him a little ^(EM)robe and bring it up to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer ^(EN)the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Then Eli would ^(EO)bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you ^[ch]children from this woman in place of the ^[ci]one she ^(EP)requested of the Lord.” And they went to their own ^[cj]home.

^21 [ck](EQ)The Lord indeed visited Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And ^(ER)the boy Samuel grew up ^[cl]before the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

²² Now Eli was very old; and he heard about ^(ES)everything that his sons were doing to all Israel, and that they slept with ^(ET)the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ²³ So he said to them, “Why are you doing such things as these, the evil things that I hear from all these people? ²⁴ No, my sons; for the report is not good ^(EU)which I hear the Lord’s people circulating. ²⁵ If one person sins against another, ^(EV)God will mediate for him; but ^(EW)if a person sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the ^(EX)Lord desired to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the boy ^(EY)Samuel was continuing to grow and to be in favor both with the Lord and with people.

²⁷ Then ^(EZ)a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(FA)Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? ^28 (FB)Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me? And did I not ^(FC)give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? ²⁹ Why are you ^[cm](FD)showing contempt for My sacrifice and My offering ^(FE)which I have commanded for My ^(FF)dwelling, and why are you ^(FG)honoring your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ^[cn]choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ ³⁰ Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘^(FH)I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father was to walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for ^(FI)those who honor Me I will honor, and those ^(FJ)who despise Me will be insignificant. ³¹ Behold, ^(FK)the days are coming when I will eliminate your ^[co]strength and the ^[cp]strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² And you will look at ^(FL)the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that ^[cq]I do for Israel; and there will never be an ^(FM)old man in your house. ³³ Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar, ^[cr]so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the ^[cs]increase of your house will die ^[ct]in the prime of life. ³⁴ And this will be ^(FN)the sign to you which will come in regard to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: ^(FO)on the same day both of them will die. ³⁵ But ^(FP)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and My soul; and ^(FQ)I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before ^(FR)My anointed always. ³⁶ And everyone who is left in your house will come to bow down to him for a ^[cu]silver coin or a loaf of bread and say, “Please ^[cv]assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”