1 Samuel 2:12-26

New American Standard Bible

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^[a](A)useless men; they did not know the Lord. ^13 (B)And this was the custom of the priests with the people: when anyone was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was cooking, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ And he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; everything that the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. They did so in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before ^(C)they ^[b]burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take cooked meat from you, only raw.” ¹⁶ And if the man said to him, “They must ^[c]burn the fat ^[d]first, then take as much as ^[e]you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you must give it to me now; and if not, I am taking it by force!” ¹⁷ And so the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men ^(D)treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.

Samuel before the Lord as a Boy

¹⁸ Now ^(E)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy ^(F)wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And his mother would make for him a little ^(G)robe and bring it up to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer ^(H)the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Then Eli would ^(I)bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you ^[f]children from this woman in place of the ^[g]one she ^(J)requested of the Lord.” And they went to their own ^[h]home.

^21 [i](K)The Lord indeed visited Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And ^(L)the boy Samuel grew up ^[j]before the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

²² Now Eli was very old; and he heard about ^(M)everything that his sons were doing to all Israel, and that they slept with ^(N)the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ²³ So he said to them, “Why are you doing such things as these, the evil things that I hear from all these people? ²⁴ No, my sons; for the report is not good ^(O)which I hear the Lord’s people circulating. ²⁵ If one person sins against another, ^(P)God will mediate for him; but ^(Q)if a person sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the ^(R)Lord desired to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the boy ^(S)Samuel was continuing to grow and to be in favor both with the Lord and with people.