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.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:12 Lit sons of Belial
  2. 1 Samuel 2:15 Lit offered up in smoke
  3. 1 Samuel 2:16 Lit offer up in smoke
  4. 1 Samuel 2:16 Lit as the day
  5. 1 Samuel 2:16 Lit your soul desires

Eli’s Wicked Sons

12 Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord 13 or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, 14 the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. 15 Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal’s fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting.

16 The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” 17 So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt.

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Eli’s Wicked Sons

12 Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard(A) for the Lord. 13 Now it was the practice(B) of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat(C) was being boiled 14 and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15 But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

16 If the person said to him, “Let the fat(D) 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.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text people