Eli's Worthless Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^(A)worthless men. ^(B)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 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, ^(C)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 ^(D)in the sight of the Lord, ^(E)for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

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 ^(A)were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

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, ^(A)for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

^28 (A)Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, ^(B)to wear an ephod before me? ^(C)I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel.

²⁹ Why then do you ^(A)scorn^[a] my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’