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1 Samuel 2:16-18
King James Version
1 Samuel 2:16-18
King James Version
16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.
18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
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1 Samuel 2:16-18
New King James Version
1 Samuel 2:16-18
New King James Version
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 (A)before the Lord, for men (B)abhorred[a] the offering of the Lord.
Samuel’s Childhood Ministry
18 (C)But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, (D)wearing a linen ephod.
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- 1 Samuel 2:17 despised
1 Samuel 2:16-18
New International Version
1 Samuel 2:16-18
New International Version
16 If the person said to him, “Let the fat(A) be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
17 This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they[a] were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.(B)
18 But Samuel was ministering(C) before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.(D)
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 2:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text people
1 Samuel 2:16-18
English Standard Version
1 Samuel 2:16-18
English Standard Version
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 (A)in the sight of the Lord, (B)for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.
18 (C)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy (D)clothed with a linen ephod.
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1 Samuel 2:16-18
New American Standard Bible
1 Samuel 2:16-18
New American Standard Bible
16 And if the man said to him, “They must [a]burn the fat [b]first, then take as much as [c]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 (A)treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.
Samuel before the Lord as a Boy
18 Now (B)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy (C)wearing a linen ephod.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 2:16 Lit offer up in smoke
- 1 Samuel 2:16 Lit as the day
- 1 Samuel 2:16 Lit your soul desires
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.