30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.(A)’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor,(B) but those who despise(C) me will be disdained.(D) 31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age,(E) 32 and you will see distress(F) in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age.(G) 33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants(H) will die in the prime of life.

34 “‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign(I) to you—they will both die(J) on the same day.(K) 35 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest,(L) who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed(M) one always.

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30 “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi[a] would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. 31 The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. 32 You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. 33 The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a violent death.[b] 34 And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!

35 “Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:30 Hebrew that your house and your father’s house.
  2. 2:33 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version, which read die by the sword; Masoretic Text reads die like mortals.