1 Samuel 2:22-26
New English Translation
22 Eli was very old. And he would hear about everything that his sons used to do to all the people of Israel[a] and[b] how they used to go to bed with[c] the women who were stationed at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do these things, these evil things that I hear about from all these people?[d] 24 No, my sons! For the report that I hear circulating[e] among the Lord’s people is not good. 25 If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf.[f] But if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But Eli’s sons[g] would not listen to their father.[h] Indeed[i] the Lord had decided[j] to kill them. 26 However, the boy[k] Samuel was growing up and finding favor both with the Lord and with people.[l]
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- 1 Samuel 2:22 tn Heb “to all Israel.”
- 1 Samuel 2:22 tc The latter half of the verse is absent in the LXX. It also appears to be absent from 4QSama, as judged by the lack of adequate space between the remaining text.
- 1 Samuel 2:22 tn Heb “lie down with,” a euphemism for sexual relations.
- 1 Samuel 2:23 tn The MT reads, “Why do you act according to these things which I am hearing—evil things—from all these people?”tc The LXX ends “from all the people of the Lord” (κυρίου, kuriou). Perhaps the final phrase of v. 24 (“the people of the Lord”) influenced the LXX. Somewhat less likely is the view that the MT reading is due to a distorted dittography of the first word of v. 24. The Vulgate lacks the word.
- 1 Samuel 2:24 tn The verb is a Hiphil participle from עָבַר (ʿabar). The Concise Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (p. 309) understands it to mean “spread[ing] about” in this context. The term can also mean “causing to transgress.”tc The LXX reads “the report…is not good, so that the people do not serve God.”
- 1 Samuel 2:25 tc MT “God may arbitrate [for] him.” LXX “they shall pray for him to the Lord.” Auld suggests that אֶל יהוה (ʾel YHWH; “to the Lord”), attested in 4QSama, may have been corrupted into אֱלֹהִים (ʾelohim; “God”) (Graeme Auld, I & II Samuel [Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011] 46).
- 1 Samuel 2:25 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Eli’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Samuel 2:25 tn Heb “the voice of their father.”
- 1 Samuel 2:25 tn Or “Indeed.”
- 1 Samuel 2:25 tn Heb “desired” or “had become willing to.”
- 1 Samuel 2:26 tn The term נַעַר (naʿar), here translated “boy,” often refers to a servant or apprentice in line for a position of authority. A decade or more has probably passed since Hannah brought him to Eli.
- 1 Samuel 2:26 sn This is a parenthetic remark in which Samuel is again contrasted with Hophni and Phinehas (cf. 2:11b-12; 2:17-18).
1 Samuel 2:22-26
Common English Bible
22 Eli was very old, but he heard everything his sons were doing to the Israelites, and how they had sex with the women who served at the meeting tent’s entrance. 23 Eli said to his sons, “Why are you doing these terrible things that I’m hearing about from everybody? 24 No, my sons. Don’t do this.[a] The report I hear spreading among God’s people isn’t good. 25 If someone sins against someone else, God can intercede; but if someone sins against the Lord, who will intercede then?” But they wouldn’t obey their father because the Lord wanted to kill them. 26 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel kept growing up and was more and more liked by both the Lord and the people.
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- 1 Samuel 2:24 LXX, DSS (4QSama); MT lacks Don’t do this.
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