1 Samuel 2
King James Version
2 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
2 There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
6 The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
7 The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them.
9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.
11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.
12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.
13 And the priest's custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;
14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.
16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.
18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord. And they went unto their own home.
21 And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.
22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.
24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord's people to transgress.
25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.
26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.
27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?
29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.
32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.
33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.
35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.
36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
1 Samuel 2
Easy-to-Read Version
Hannah Gives Thanks
2 Hannah said,
“My heart is happy in the Lord.
I feel very strong[a] in my God.
I laugh at my enemies.[b]
I am very happy in my victory.
2 There is no holy God 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,
because the Lord God knows everything.
He leads and judges people.
4 The bows of strong soldiers break,
and weak people become strong.
5 People who had plenty of food in the past
must now work to get food.
But those who were hungry in the past
now grow fat on food.
The woman who was not able to have children
now has seven children.
But the woman who had many children
is sad because her children are gone.
6 The Lord causes people to die,
and he causes them to live.
He sends people down to the grave,
and he can raise them up to live again.
7 The Lord makes some poor,
and he makes others rich.
He humbles some people,
and he honors others.
8 He raises the poor from the dust,
and he takes away their sadness.[c]
He makes them important
and seats them with princes and at the places for honored guests.
The Lord made the whole world,
and the whole world belongs to him.[d]
9 He protects his holy people.
He keeps them from stumbling.
But evil people will be destroyed.
They will fall in the darkness.
Their power won’t help them win.
10 The Lord destroys his enemies.
God Most High will thunder in heaven against people.
The Lord will judge even the lands that are far away.
He will give power to his king.
He will make his chosen king[e] strong.”
11 Elkanah and his family went home to Ramah, but the boy stayed in Shiloh and served the Lord under Eli the priest.
Eli’s Evil Sons
12 Eli’s sons were evil men who did not care about the Lord. 13 They did not care about how priests were supposed to treat people. Whenever someone brings a sacrifice, priests are supposed to put the meat in a pot of boiling water. Then their servant is supposed to get the three-pronged fork 14 and use it to get some meat out of the pot or kettle. The priest is supposed to take whatever his helper removes from the pot with the special fork. This is what the priests should have done for the Israelites who came to offer sacrifices at Shiloh. 15 But that is not what the sons of Eli did. Even before the fat was burned on the altar, their servant would go to the people offering sacrifices and say, “Give the priest some meat to roast. The priest won’t accept boiled meat from you.”
16 Maybe the man offering the sacrifice would say, “Burn the fat[f] first, and then you can take whatever you want.” But the servant would answer: “No, give me the meat now. If you don’t give it to me, I’ll take it from you!”
17 In this way Hophni and Phinehas showed that they did not respect the offerings made to the Lord. This was a terrible sin against the Lord.
18 But Samuel served the Lord. He was a helper who wore the linen ephod. 19 Every year Samuel’s mother made a robe for Samuel. She took the little robe to Samuel when she went up to Shiloh with her husband for the sacrifice every year.
20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife. He would say, “May the Lord give you more children through Hannah who will take the place of the boy she prayed for and gave to the Lord.”
Elkanah and Hannah went home. 21 The Lord was kind to Hannah, and she had three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the holy place near the Lord.
Eli Fails to Control His Evil Sons
22 Eli was very old. He heard about the bad things his sons were doing to the Israelites at Shiloh and how his sons were having sexual relations with the women who served at the door of the Meeting Tent.
23 Eli said to his sons, “The people here told me about the evil things you have done. Why are you doing such things? 24 Sons, stop that! The Lord’s people are saying bad things about you. 25 If you sin against other people, God might protect you. But who can help you if you sin against the Lord?”
Eli’s sons refused to listen to him, so the Lord decided to kill them.
26 The boy Samuel kept growing. He was pleasing to the Lord and to the people.
The Terrible Prophecy About Eli’s Family
27 A man of God came to Eli and said, “The Lord says, ‘I appeared to your ancestors[g] when they were slaves of Pharaoh. 28 From all the tribes of Israel, I chose your tribe to be my priests. I chose them to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and wear the ephod. I also let your tribe have the meat from the sacrifices that the Israelites give to me. 29 So why don’t you respect these gifts and sacrifices? You honor your sons more than me. You become fat eating the best parts of the meat that the Israelites bring to me.’
30 “The Lord, the God of Israel, promised that your father’s family would serve him forever. But now the Lord says, ‘That will never be! I will honor people who honor me, but bad things will happen to those who refuse to respect me. 31 The time is coming when I will destroy all your descendants. No one in your family will live to be an old man. 32 Good things will happen to Israel, but you will see bad things happening at home.[h] No one in your family will live to be an old man. 33 There is only one man I will save to serve as priest at my altar. He will live until his eyes wear out and his strength is gone. But all of your descendants will die by the sword.[i] 34 I will give you a sign to show that these things will come true. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day. 35 I will choose a priest I can trust. This priest will listen to me and do what I want. I will make his family strong, and he will always serve before my chosen king.[j] 36 Then whoever is left in your family will come and bow down before this priest and beg for a little money or a piece of bread. They will say, “Please give me a job as priest so that I can have some food to eat.”’”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 2:1 I feel very strong Literally, “In the Lord my horn is lifted high.” The horn is a symbol of strength.
- 1 Samuel 2:1 I laugh at my enemies Literally, “My mouth is wide open over my enemies.”
- 1 Samuel 2:8 he … sadness Literally, “he picks up the poor from the ashes.”
- 1 Samuel 2:8 The Lord made … to him Literally, “The whole world, even to its foundations, belongs to the Lord. He set the world on those pillars.”
- 1 Samuel 2:10 chosen king Literally, “anointed one.”
- 1 Samuel 2:16 Burn the fat The fat was the part of the animal that belonged only to God. It was supposed to be burned first as an offering to him.
- 1 Samuel 2:27 ancestors Literally, “father’s house.” See “ancestor” in the Word List.
- 1 Samuel 2:32 but you … at home These words are not in the ancient Greek version or the Hebrew scrolls from Qumran.
- 1 Samuel 2:33 by the sword This is found in the ancient Greek version and a Hebrew scroll from Qumran. The standard Hebrew text has “like men.”
- 1 Samuel 2:35 chosen king Literally, “anointed one.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International