1 Samuel 2
New King James Version
Hannah’s Prayer(A)
2 And Hannah (B)prayed and said:
(C)“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
(D)My [a]horn is exalted in the Lord.
[b]I smile at my enemies,
Because I (E)rejoice in Your salvation.
2 “No(F) one is holy like the Lord,
For there is (G)none besides You,
Nor is there any (H)rock like our God.
3 “Talk no more so very proudly;
(I)Let no arrogance come from your mouth,
For the Lord is the God of (J)knowledge;
And by Him actions are weighed.
4 “The(K) bows of the mighty men are broken,
And those who stumbled are girded with strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
And the hungry have ceased to hunger.
Even (L)the barren has borne seven,
And (M)she who has many children has become feeble.
6 “The(N) Lord kills and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and brings up.
7 The Lord (O)makes poor and makes rich;
(P)He brings low and lifts up.
8 (Q)He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,
(R)To set them among princes
And make them inherit the throne of glory.
(S)“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He has set the world upon them.
9 (T)He will guard the feet of His saints,
But the (U)wicked shall be silent in darkness.
“For by strength no man shall prevail.
10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be (V)broken in pieces;
(W)From heaven He will thunder against them.
(X)The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
11 Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child [d]ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.
The Wicked Sons of Eli
12 Now the sons of Eli were (AB)corrupt;[e] (AC)they did not know the Lord. 13 And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. 14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in (AD)Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Also, before they (AE)burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.”
16 And if the man said to him, “They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.”
17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very great (AF)before the Lord, for men (AG)abhorred[f] the offering of the Lord.
Samuel’s Childhood Ministry
18 (AH)But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, (AI)wearing a linen ephod. 19 Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she (AJ)came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 And Eli (AK)would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The Lord give you descendants from this woman for the [g]loan that was (AL)given to the Lord.” Then they would go to their own home.
21 And the Lord (AM)visited[h] Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel (AN)grew before the Lord.
Prophecy Against Eli’s Household
22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, [i]and how they lay with (AO)the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 24 No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress. 25 If one man sins against another, (AP)God[j] will judge him. But if a man (AQ)sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, (AR)because the Lord desired to kill them.
26 And the child Samuel (AS)grew in stature, and (AT)in favor both with the Lord and men.
27 Then a (AU)man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: (AV)‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? 28 Did I not (AW)choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And (AX)did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 29 Why do you (AY)kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My (AZ)dwelling place, and honor your sons more than (BA)Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’ 30 Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: (BB)‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: (BC)‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and (BD)those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, (BE)the days are coming that I will cut off your [k]arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be (BF)an old man in your house forever. 33 But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 Now this shall be (BG)a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: (BH)in one day they shall die, both of them. 35 Then (BI)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. (BJ)I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before (BK)My anointed forever. 36 (BL)And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please, [l]put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 2:1 Strength
- 1 Samuel 2:1 Lit. My mouth is enlarged
- 1 Samuel 2:10 Strength
- 1 Samuel 2:11 served
- 1 Samuel 2:12 Lit. sons of Belial
- 1 Samuel 2:17 despised
- 1 Samuel 2:20 gift
- 1 Samuel 2:21 attended to
- 1 Samuel 2:22 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; DSS, LXX omit rest of verse
- 1 Samuel 2:25 Tg. the Judge
- 1 Samuel 2:31 strength
- 1 Samuel 2:36 assign
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.”’”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.