27 Then (A)a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘(B)Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? 28 (C)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 (D)give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? 29 Why are you [a](E)showing contempt for My sacrifice and My offering (F)which I have commanded for My (G)dwelling, and why are you (H)honoring your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the [b]choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ 30 Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘(I)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 (J)those who honor Me I will honor, and those (K)who despise Me will be insignificant. 31 Behold, (L)the days are coming when I will eliminate your [c]strength and the [d]strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 And you will look at (M)the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that [e]I do for Israel; and there will never be an (N)old man in your house. 33 Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar, [f]so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the [g]increase of your house will die [h]in the prime of life. 34 And this will be (O)the sign to you which will come in regard to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: (P)on the same day both of them will die. 35 But (Q)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and My soul; and (R)I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before (S)My anointed always. 36 And everyone who is left in your house will come to bow down to him for a [i]silver coin or a loaf of bread and say, “Please [j]assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:29 Lit giving a kick to
  2. 1 Samuel 2:29 Or first
  3. 1 Samuel 2:31 Lit arm
  4. 1 Samuel 2:31 Lit arm
  5. 1 Samuel 2:32 Lit He does
  6. 1 Samuel 2:33 Lit to make your eyes fail and to grieve your soul
  7. 1 Samuel 2:33 I.e., new children
  8. 1 Samuel 2:33 Lit as men
  9. 1 Samuel 2:36 Or payment
  10. 1 Samuel 2:36 Lit attach

A Warning for Eli’s Family

27 One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: “I revealed myself[a] to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. 28 I chose your ancestor Aaron[b] from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest[c] as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. 29 So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!

30 “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi[d] would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. 31 The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. 32 You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. 33 The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a violent death.[e] 34 And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!

35 “Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever. 36 Then all of your surviving family will bow before him, begging for money and food. ‘Please,’ they will say, ‘give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat.’”

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Footnotes

  1. 2:27 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads Did I reveal myself.
  2. 2:28a Hebrew your father.
  3. 2:28b Hebrew an ephod.
  4. 2:30 Hebrew that your house and your father’s house.
  5. 2:33 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version, which read die by the sword; Masoretic Text reads die like mortals.