1 Samuel 2:22-36

New American Standard Bible

Eli Rebukes His Sons

²² Now Eli was very old; and he heard about ^(A)everything that his sons were doing to all Israel, and that they slept with ^(B)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 ^(C)which I hear the Lord’s people circulating. ²⁵ If one person sins against another, ^(D)God will mediate for him; but ^(E)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 ^(F)Lord desired to put them to death.

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

²⁷ Then ^(H)a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(I)Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? ^28 (J)Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me? And did I not ^(K)give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? ²⁹ Why are you ^[a](L)showing contempt for My sacrifice and My offering ^(M)which I have commanded for My ^(N)dwelling, and why are you ^(O)honoring your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ^[b]choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ ³⁰ Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘^(P)I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father was to walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for ^(Q)those who honor Me I will honor, and those ^(R)who despise Me will be insignificant. ³¹ Behold, ^(S)the days are coming when I will eliminate your ^[c]strength and the ^[d]strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² And you will look at ^(T)the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that ^[e]I do for Israel; and there will never be an ^(U)old man in your house. ³³ Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar, ^[f]so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the ^[g]increase of your house will die ^[h]in the prime of life. ³⁴ And this will be ^(V)the sign to you which will come in regard to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: ^(W)on the same day both of them will die. ³⁵ But ^(X)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and My soul; and ^(Y)I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before ^(Z)My anointed always. ³⁶ And everyone who is left in your house will come to bow down to him for a ^[i]silver coin or a loaf of bread and say, “Please ^[j]assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”