Hannah's Prayer

2 And Hannah prayed and said,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home ^(T)to Ramah. ^(U)And the boy ministered to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

Eli's Worthless Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^(V)worthless men. ^(W)They did not know the Lord. ¹³ The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant^[c] would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, ¹⁴ and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Moreover, ^(X)before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” ¹⁶ And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷ Thus the sin of the young men was very great ^(Y)in the sight of the Lord, ^(Z)for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

^18 (AA)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy ^(AB)clothed with a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year ^(AC)when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman ^(AD)for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.

^21 (AE)Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. ^(AF)And the young man Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

²² Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who ^(AG)were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ²³ And 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; it is not a good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. ²⁵ If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, ^(AH)for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the young man Samuel ^(AI)continued to grow both in stature and in favour with the Lord and also with man.

The Lord Rejects Eli's Household

²⁷ And there came ^(AJ)a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus the Lord has said, ^(AK)‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? ^28 (AL)Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, ^(AM)to wear an ephod before me? ^(AN)I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. ²⁹ Why then do you ^(AO)scorn^[d] my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honour your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ ³⁰ Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ^(AP)‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me for ever,’ ^(AQ)but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honour me I will honour, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. ³¹ Behold, ^(AR)the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² Then ^(AS)in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, ^(AT)and there shall not be an old man in your house for ever. ³³ The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his^[e] eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants^[f] of your house shall die by the sword of men.^{[g] 34 (AU)}And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die ^(AV)on the same day. ^35 (AW)And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. ^(AX)And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before ^(AY)my anointed for ever. ³⁶ And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”

God's Righteous Judgement

2 Therefore you have ^(A)no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For ^(B)in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practise the very same things. ² We know that the judgement of God rightly falls on those who practise such things. ³ Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practise such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgement of God? ⁴ Or do you presume on ^(C)the riches of his kindness and ^(D)forbearance and ^(E)patience, ^(F)not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵ But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are ^(G)storing up ^(H)wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgement will be revealed.

^6 (I)He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷ to those who ^(J)by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸ but for those who are self-seeking^[a] and ^(K)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹ There will be tribulation and distress ^(L)for every human being who does evil, the Jew ^(M)first and also the Greek, ¹⁰ but glory and honour and ^(N)peace for everyone who does good, ^(O)the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹ For ^(P)God shows no partiality.

God's Judgement and the Law

¹² For all who have sinned ^(Q)without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³ For ^(R)it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. ¹⁴ For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, ^(S)by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the work of the law is ^(T)written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ^16 (U)on that day when, ^(V)according to my gospel, God judges ^(W)the secrets of men ^(X)by Christ Jesus.

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a Jew and ^(Y)rely on the law and boast in God ¹⁸ and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; ¹⁹ and if you are sure that you yourself are ^(Z)a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law ^(AA)the embodiment of ^(AB)knowledge and truth— ^21 (AC)you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you ^(AD)rob temples? ²³ You who ^(AE)boast in the law ^(AF)dishonour God by breaking the law. ²⁴ For, ^(AG)as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed ^(AH)among the Gentiles because of you.”

²⁵ For circumcision indeed is of value ^(AI)if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. ²⁶ So, if ^(AJ)a man who is uncircumcised keeps ^(AK)the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded^[b] as circumcision? ²⁷ Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law ^(AL)will condemn you who have ^(AM)the written code^[c] and circumcision but break the law. ²⁸ For ^(AN)no one is a Jew ^(AO)who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one ^(AP)inwardly, and ^(AQ)circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. ^(AR)His praise is not from man but from God.

The Fall of Jerusalem

39 ^(A)In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. ² In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. ³ Then all ^(B)the officials of the king of Babylon came ^(C)and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim ^(D)the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. ⁴ When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went towards ^(E)the Arabah. ⁵ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in ^(F)the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at ^(G)Riblah, in the land of Hamath; ^(H)and he passed sentence on him. ⁶ The king of Babylon ^(I)slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at ^(J)Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon ^(K)slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. ^7 (L)He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. ^8 (M)The Chaldeans burned the king's house and the house of the people, ^(N)and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹ Then ^(O)Nebuzaradan, the ^(P)captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, ^(Q)those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. ¹⁰ Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, ^(R)left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

The Lord Delivers Jeremiah

¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, ^12 (S)“Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” ¹³ So ^(T)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, ^(U)and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon ¹⁴ sent and took Jeremiah from ^(V)the court of the guard. They entrusted him to ^(W)Gedaliah the son of ^(X)Ahikam, son of ^(Y)Shaphan, that he should take him home. So ^(Z)he lived among the people.

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah ^(AA)while he was shut up in the court of the guard: ¹⁶ “Go, and say to ^(AB)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(AC)Behold, I will fulfil my words against this city for harm and ^(AD)not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. ¹⁷ But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men ^(AE)of whom you are afraid. ¹⁸ For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your ^(AF)life as a prize of war, ^(AG)because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’”