1 Samuel 2
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 2
1 [a]Then Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart rejoices in the Lord,
my horn is lifted high in the Lord.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I rejoice in my salvation.
2 There is no holy one like the Lord,
there is none beside you,
nor is there a rock like our God.
3 [b]Do not talk so proudly
nor let arrogance come forth from your mouth,
for the Lord is a knowing God,
and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
the feeble are clothed in strength.
5 The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
and the hungry cease to hunger.
The barren has borne seven times,
while she who has many children grows faint.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life.
He brings down to Sheol, and lifts up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
he humbles and he also exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust,
and from the refuse he lifts up the beggar,
To seat them among princes,
that they might inherit a throne of glory.
For the Lord’s are the pillars of the earth,
and he has set the world upon them.
9 He will guard the feet of his saints,
but the wicked will be cut off in the darkness,
for by strength none shall prevail.
10 Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered,
he will thunder against them from the heavens,
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth,
He will give strength to his king,
and exalt the horn of his anointed one.”
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the child ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest.
12 The Sons of Eli.[c][d]Now Eli’s sons were sons of Belial, they had no regard for the Lord. 13 This is how the priests would deal with the people when anyone came to offer a sacrifice: the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 14 He would stick it in the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot. Everything that he would bring up with the fork was for the priest. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came up to Shiloh. 15 Even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come up to a man and say, “Give the priest some meat to roast. He will not take any boiled meat from you, only raw meat.” 16 If the man said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, then you can take what you want,” he would answer him, “No! Give it to me now, or I will take it by force.” 17 The young men’s sin was very serious before the Lord, for they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.
18 Hannah’s Family Grows. Samuel was ministering to the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod.[e] 19 His mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him each year when she came up with her husband to offer their yearly sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord grant you children from this woman in place of the one you have dedicated to the Lord.” They then went home. 21 The Lord was gracious to Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Young Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
22 Eli’s Warning Ignored. Now Eli was very old, and he heard about all the things that his sons were doing to the whole of Israel, how they lay with the woman who gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 He said to them, “Why do you do these things? I have been hearing about your evil deeds from everyone. 24 No, my sons! It is an evil report that I hear among the Lord’s people. 25 If one man sins against another, then a judge will judge him. If a man sins against God, who will intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father’s rebuke, for the Lord wanted to put them to death.[f]
26 Meanwhile young Samuel grew in stature and favor with the Lord and with men.
27 The Punishment of Eli’s Sons.[g]Now a man of God came to Eli and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt, in Pharaoh’s house? 28 Did I not choose him from out of all of the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before me? Did I not give your father’s house all of the burnt offerings of the Israelites? 29 Why do you scorn my sacrifice and my offering that I have prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choicest of the offerings of my people Israel?
30 “ ‘Therefore,’ says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Even though I declared that you and your father’s house would minister before me forever, now, far be it from me,’ says the Lord. ‘I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me will be despised. 31 Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that not a single old man remains in your house. 32 You will see the distress of my dwelling in spite of all that I have given Israel. In your house there will never again be an old man. 33 Everyone of you whom I do not cut off from my altar will be spared so that you can cry out your eyes and grieve your heart. All the descendants of your house will die in the prime of their life.
34 “ ‘This will be a sign for you of what will come upon your two sons, upon Hophni and Phinehas. They will both die on the same day. 35 But I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who will do what is my in heart and my mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will walk before my anointed forever. 36 Whoever is left in your house will bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread. He will say, “Please place me in one of the priest’s offices so that I might have a piece of bread to eat.” ’ ”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 2:1 This canticle was composed later on, but it suits the event described so well that Mary’s Magnificat is largely inspired by it (Lk 1:46ff).
- 1 Samuel 2:3 Hannah had no need to remonstrate with those (i.e., Peninnah) who had shown her disrespect because she knew God as the supreme judge and trusted in his divine justice.
- 1 Samuel 2:12 The lengthy episode about the prophet explains why, in the time of Solomon, the high priesthood was transferred from Abiathar, a descendant of Eli, to Zadok (1 Ki 2:27-35). It also justifies the removal of various local sanctuaries from Levite control after the centralization of worship in Jerusalem (2 Ki 23:9) toward the end of the seventh century.
- 1 Samuel 2:12 Under the law, Eli’s sons, who were priests, had many advantages. They were, however, filled with greed and took more than their due, thereby undermining their position. Eli’s failure to take action caused hardship for others and in the end destroyed his and his sons’ relationship with God.
- 1 Samuel 2:18 Ephod: a priestly garment that little Samuel was already wearing, although his was not made of the same precious material as the priests’.
- 1 Samuel 2:25 The Lord . . . put them to death: because of their deception, sinfulness, and arrogance against God and the people they served, the Lord would no longer protect Eli’s sons, and this led to their death.
- 1 Samuel 2:27 The high priesthood, which, after Aaron, had belonged to his son Eleazar (Num 20:25-28), had been transferred to the line of the latter’s younger brother, Ithamar (1 Chr 24:3), at a time and in a way not recorded in the Bible. The present prophecy will soon begin to be fulfilled in the killing of Ahimelech and the other priests of Nob (1 Sam 22:11-18, 20), although Abiathar, Ahimelech’s son, will be saved on that occasion, only to be removed by Solomon.
1 Samuel 2
International Children’s Bible
Hannah Gives Thanks
2 Hannah said:
“The Lord has filled my heart with joy.
I feel very strong in the Lord.
I can laugh at my enemies.
I am glad because you have helped me!
2 “There is no one holy like the Lord.
There is no God but you.
There is no Rock like our God.
3 “Don’t continue bragging.
Don’t speak proud words.
The Lord is a God who knows everything.
He judges what people do.
4 “The bows of warriors break,
but weak people become strong.
5 Those who once had plenty of food now must work for food.
But people who once were hungry now grow fat on food.
The woman who was unable to have children now has had seven.
But the woman who had many sons now is sad.
6 “The Lord causes people to die,
and he causes them to live.
He brings people down to where the dead are,
and he raises them to life again.
7 The Lord makes people poor,
and he makes people rich.
He makes people humble,
and he makes people great.
8 The Lord raises the poor up from the dust.
And he picks needy people up from the ashes.
He lets the poor sit with princes.
He lets them sit on a throne of honor.
“The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord.
The Lord set the world upon them.
9 He protects his holy people.
But those who do evil will be silenced in darkness.
Their power will not help them win.
10 The Lord destroys his enemies.
He will thunder in heaven against them.
The Lord will judge all the earth.
He will give power to his king.
He will make his appointed king strong.”
Eli’s Evil Sons
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy continued to serve the Lord under Eli the priest.
12 Now Eli’s sons were evil men. They did not care about the Lord. 13 This is what the priests would do to the people: Every time someone brought a sacrifice, the meat would be cooked in a pot. The priest’s servant would then come with a fork in his hand. The fork had three prongs. 14 He would plunge the fork into the pot or the kettle. Whatever the fork brought out of the pot belonged to the priest. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices. 15 But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come to the person offering sacrifices. The servant would say, “Give the priest some meat to roast. The priest won’t accept boiled meat from you. He will only accept raw meat.”
16 But the man who offered the sacrifice might say, “Let the fat be burned up first as usual. Then you may take anything you want.”
If so, the priest’s servant would answer, “No, give me the meat now. If you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
17 The Lord saw that the sin of the servants was very great. They did not show respect for the offerings made to the Lord.
Samuel Grows Up
18 But Samuel obeyed the Lord. He wore a linen holy vest. 19 Every year Samuel’s mother would make a little coat for him. She would take it to him when she went to Shiloh. She went there with her husband for the sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife. Eli would say, “May the Lord repay you with children through Hannah. They will take the place of the boy Hannah prayed for and gave back to the Lord.” Then Elkanah and Hannah would go home. 21 The Lord was kind to Hannah. She became the mother of three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up serving the Lord.
22 Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all the Israelites. He also heard about how his sons had physical relations with the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. 23 Eli said to his sons, “The people here tell me about the evil you do. Why do you do these evil things? 24 No, my sons. The Lord’s people are saying bad things about you. 25 If someone sins against another person, God can help him. But if he sins against the Lord himself, no one can help him!” But Eli’s sons would not listen to him. This was because the Lord had decided to put them to death.
26 The boy Samuel kept growing. He pleased God and the people.
27 A man of God came to Eli. He said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I clearly showed myself to the family of your ancestor Aaron. This was when they were slaves to the king of Egypt. 28 I chose them from all the tribes of Israel to be my priests. I wanted them to go up to my altar, to burn incense and to wear the holy vest. I also let the family of your ancestor have part of all the offerings sacrificed by the Israelites. 29 So why don’t you respect the sacrifices and gifts? You honor your sons more than me. You become fat on the best parts of the meat the Israelites bring to me.’
30 “Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I promised that your family and your ancestor’s family would serve me forever.’ But now the Lord says this: ‘That will never be! I will honor those who honor me. But I will take honor away from those who do not honor me. 31 The time is coming when I will destroy the descendants of both you and your ancestors. No man will grow old in your family. 32 You will see trouble in my house. Good things will be done to Israel. But there will never be an old man in your family. 33 I will save one man to serve as priest at my altar. He will wear out his eyes and use up his strength. The rest of your descendants will die by the sword.
34 “‘I will give you a sign. Both your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day. 35 I will choose a loyal priest for myself. He will listen to me and do what I want. I will make his family strong. He will always serve before my appointed king. 36 Then everyone left in your family will come and bow down before him. They will beg for a little money or a little food. They will say, “Please give me a job as priest so I can have food to eat.”’”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
