²⁷ A man of God came to Eli and said to him, ‘Thus the Lord has said, “I revealed^[a] myself to the family of your ancestor in Egypt when they were slaves^[b] to the house of Pharaoh. ²⁸ I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to offer incense, to wear an ephod before me; and I gave to the family of your ancestor all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. ²⁹ Why then look with greedy eye^[c] at my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honour your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?” ³⁰ Therefore the Lord the God of Israel declares: “I promised that your family and the family of your ancestor should go in and out before me for ever”; but now the Lord declares: “Far be it from me; for those who honour me I will honour, and those who despise me shall be treated with contempt. ³¹ See, a time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestor’s family, so that no one in your family will live to old age. ³² Then in distress you will look with greedy eye^[d] on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed upon Israel; and no one in your family shall ever live to old age. ³³ The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep out his^[e] eyes and grieve his^[f] heart; all the members of your household shall die by the sword.^{[g] 34} The fate of your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you—both of them shall die on the same day. ³⁵ I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed one for ever. ³⁶ Everyone who is left in your family shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and shall say, Please put me in one of the priest’s places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’

Psalm 43

Prayer to God in Time of Trouble

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relation to God ¹⁸ and know his will and determine what is best because you are instructed in the law, ¹⁹ and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, ²¹ you, then, that teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You that forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You that abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You that boast in the law, do you dishonour God by breaking the law? ²⁴ For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’

²⁵ Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶ So, if those who are uncircumcised keep the requirements of the law, will not their uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? ²⁷ Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you that have the written code and circumcision but break the law. ²⁸ For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. ²⁹ Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.