1 Samuel 2:11-18

New King James Version

¹¹ Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ^[a]ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Wicked Sons of Eli

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^(A)corrupt;^{[b] (B)}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 ^(C)Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before they ^(D)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 ^(E)before the Lord, for men ^(F)abhorred^[c] the offering of the Lord.

Samuel’s Childhood Ministry

^18 (G)But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, ^(H)wearing a linen ephod.