¹¹ So Elkanah and his family returned home to Ramah, while Samuel remained behind with Eli the priest to minister before the Eternal One.

¹² Although Eli’s sons served as priests, they were really worthless men with no understanding of the Eternal ^13-14 or of their priestly duties. When someone presented meat as a ritual offering to the Lord, the priest would send a servant with a three-pronged fork to probe around in the pot or kettle as the sacrifice boiled; and whatever he brought up with the fork, the priest would keep as his own. They did this at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came to sacrifice.