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27 A man of God came to Eli, saying to him,[a] “This is what the Lord says: ‘When they were in Egypt and slaves[b] to the house of Pharaoh, did I not reveal[c] to the family of your ancestor Aaron[d] 28 that I had chosen him[e] out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer up burnt offerings on my altar, burn incense, and carry[f] the ephod in my presence? And did I not give to your ancestors’ family all the Israeli fire-offerings? 29 Why, then, do all of you show contempt for[g] my sacrifice and offering that I’ve commanded for my[h] dwelling? And you honor your sons more than me in order to fatten yourselves[i] from the best of all the offerings of my people Israel.’[j]

30 “Therefore, the Lord God of Israel has declared, ‘I did, in fact, say[k] that your family and your ancestor’s family would walk before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from me! The one who honors me I’ll honor, and the one who despises me is to be treated with contempt. 31 The time is coming when I’ll cut away[l] at your family[m] and your ancestor’s family[n] until there are no old men left in your family. 32 Distress will settle down to live in your household, and despite all the good that I do for Israel,[o] there will never be an old man in your family forever, and you will never again have an old man in my house.[p] 33 Any of you whom I don’t eliminate from serving at my altar will grow tired from weeping,[q] and their[r] souls will grieve. All the increase of your family will die by violence.[s] 34 Here’s a sign for you—your two sons Hophni and Phineas will both die on the same day! 35 And I’ll raise up for myself a faithful[t] priest who will do according to what is in my heart and according to my desire. I’ll build for him an enduring[u] house and he will walk before my anointed one forever. 36 Anyone who remains in your family will come and prostrate themselves before him for a small wage[v] or a loaf of bread and will say,[w] “Please put me in one of the priest’s offices so I can eat a piece of bread.”’”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:27 So MT; 4QSama LXX read Eli and said
  2. 1 Samuel 2:27 So LXX and DSS; the Heb. lacks slaves
  3. 1 Samuel 2:27 So MT; 4QSama LXX read Pharaoh, I did indeed
  4. 1 Samuel 2:27 The Heb. lacks Aaron
  5. 1 Samuel 2:28 So MT; 4QSama LXX read chosen your father’s house
  6. 1 Samuel 2:28 So MT; 4QSama LXX read wear
  7. 1 Samuel 2:29 Lit. do you (pl.) tread down; 4QSama LXX read do you (sing) look down on
  8. 1 Samuel 2:29 The Heb. lacks my
  9. 1 Samuel 2:29 So MT; 4QSama reads yourself
  10. 1 Samuel 2:29 So MT; 4QSama LXX read Israel in my presence
  11. 1 Samuel 2:30 So MT LXX; 4QSama reads seek
  12. 1 Samuel 2:31 So MT; 4QSama LXX read away your strength and the strength of your father’s house
  13. 1 Samuel 2:31 Lit. arm
  14. 1 Samuel 2:31 Lit. arm
  15. 1 Samuel 2:32 Or you are to look with envy on all that happens good with Israel, and
  16. 1 Samuel 2:32 So 4QSama LXX; MT reads left in my dwelling. You will look in distress at all the prosperity given to Israel, while there never again will be an old man in your house
  17. 1 Samuel 2:33 The Heb. lacks from weeping
  18. 1 Samuel 2:33 Lit. your
  19. 1 Samuel 2:33 Lit. by the sword; so with LXX and DSS; MT die like men
  20. 1 Samuel 2:35 Or an enduring; MT word translated faithful here is translated enduring later in this verse.
  21. 1 Samuel 2:35 Or faithful; MT word translated enduring here is translated faithful earlier in this verse.
  22. 1 Samuel 2:36 Lit. a payment of silver
  23. 1 Samuel 2:36 So MT; 4QSama LXX read bread, saying

Yahweh Rebukes Eli

27 Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him: “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your ancestor[a] when they were in Egypt under the house of Pharaoh? 28 And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be a priest to me, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to bear an ephod before me. I gave to the house of your ancestor[b] all the offerings made by fire by the Israelites.[c] 29 Why do you despise my sacrifice and my offering which I commanded for my dwelling place, while you honored your sons more than me by making yourselves fat from the best of all the offerings of my people Israel? 30 Therefore,’ declares[d] Yahweh the God of Israel, ‘though I solemnly said that your house and the house of your ancestor[e] would walk before me forever, but now,’ declares[f] Yahweh, ‘far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me, I will treat with contempt! 31 Look, days are coming when I will cut off your strength[g] and the strength[h] of the house of your ancestor[i] so that no one in your house will live to old age.[j] 32 You will look at the distress of my dwelling place, despite all the good caused for Israel, but there will never be an old man in your household forever![k] 33 The only one I will not cut off from my altar is you.[l] Rather, to cause your eyes to fail and to cause your soul to grieve, all the members of your household[m] will die as men.[n] 34 This is the sign for you that will come regarding your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: they will both die on the same day! 35 But I will raise up for myself a reliable[o] priest; he will do just according to what is in my heart and in my soul. I will build for him a lasting[p] house and he will walk continually before my anointed one forever.[q] 36 All the remainder of your household will come to bow down before[r] him for a bit of silver or a loaf of bread and will say, “Please assign me to one of the priestly offices[s] so that I can eat a morsel of bread.”’”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:27 Or “father,” meaning Aaron
  2. 1 Samuel 2:28 Or “father”
  3. 1 Samuel 2:28 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  4. 1 Samuel 2:30 Literally “the declaration of”
  5. 1 Samuel 2:30 Or “father”
  6. 1 Samuel 2:30 Literally “the declaration of”
  7. 1 Samuel 2:31 Literally “arm,” figurative of “strength” in the context of “descendants”
  8. 1 Samuel 2:31 Literally “arm,” figurative of “strength” in the context of “descendants”
  9. 1 Samuel 2:31 Or “father”
  10. 1 Samuel 2:31 Literally “from being old in your house”
  11. 1 Samuel 2:32 Literally “all the days”
  12. 1 Samuel 2:33 Understanding the beth preposition as a beth essentiae
  13. 1 Samuel 2:33 Literally “all the abundance of your house”
  14. 1 Samuel 2:33 Or “in their prime”; some Greek and other manuscripts supply “sword” (“will die by the sword of men”)
  15. 1 Samuel 2:35 Or “faithful”
  16. 1 Samuel 2:35 Hebrew “faithful” or “reliable”
  17. 1 Samuel 2:35 Literally “all the days”
  18. 1 Samuel 2:36 Literally “to”
  19. 1 Samuel 2:36 Literally “priesthoods”