1 Samuel 2:27-36
New English Translation
The Lord Judges the House of Eli
27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘I plainly[a] revealed[b] myself to your ancestor’s house when they were slaves to the house of Pharaoh in Egypt.[c] 28 I chose[d] your ancestor[e] from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear[f] the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor’s house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites. 29 Why are you[g] scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place?[h] You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.’
30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say[i] that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve[j] me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be![k] For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed! 31 In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength[l] and the strength[m] of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house! 32 You will see trouble in my dwelling place![n] Israel will experience blessings,[o] but there will not be an old man in your[p] house for all time.[q] 33 Any man of yours that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause his[r] eyes to fail[s] and will cause him grief.[t] All those born to your family[u] will die by the sword of man.[v] 34 This will be a confirming sign for you that will be fulfilled through your two sons,[w] Hophni and Phinehas: in a single day they both will die! 35 Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what is in my heart and soul. I will build for him a lasting dynasty,[x] and he will serve my chosen one for all time.[y] 36 Everyone who remains in your house will come to bow before him for a little money[z] and for a scrap of bread. Each will say, “Assign me to a priestly task so I can eat a scrap of bread.”’”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 2:27 tn Or “certainly.” The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb to emphasize its modality, here the indicative mode.
- 1 Samuel 2:27 tc The MT poses as a question “Did I actually reveal myself…?” The LXX records as a statement “I revealed myself…” The syntax of the Hebrew can either ask for information that is not known or be used as a rhetorical question which expects the answer “no.” In this context the expected answer would be “yes.” One approach is to leave the question as in the Hebrew, probably expecting the reader to still think the answer should be “yes,” even though it is the not the syntax for it (ESV, KJV). Another is to add a missing negative “did I not reveal myself…” so that the question expects the answer “yes” (NIV, NAS, NKJV). More likely the interrogative הֲ (ha) is a case of dittography, as the previous word ends with the same letter ה (he) (NRSV, NLT).
- 1 Samuel 2:27 tc Reading with 4QSama and the LXX “when they were in the land of Egypt, slaves to the house of Pharaoh.” The MT omits “slaves,” probably lost due to homoioteleuton.
- 1 Samuel 2:28 tn Heb “even choosing.” The finite verb shortens the sentence for better English style.
- 1 Samuel 2:28 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Eli’s ancestor, i.e., Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Samuel 2:28 tn The verb נָשָׁא (nasaʾ) normally means “to carry” or “to bear” and refers to an ephod three times. The issue is whether the context here views the ephod more as a piece of clothing or as a cultic object. Exodus 28:4 classifies the ephod as a garment, which is made of linen (Exod 39:2). But a different verb is used in 1 Sam 2:18 and elsewhere to describe wearing an ephod. The ephod also includes stones with cultic significance as a memorial (Exod 28:12; 39:7). An ephod is associated with or appears as a cultic object (Judg 8:27 and possibly 17:5 and 18:14-20) and can be “in the hand” (1 Sam 23:6) or brought as an object (1 Sam 30:7). David uses an ephod, brought by Abiathar the priest, to consult the Lord’s will (1 Sam 23:9-10; 30:7-8). In keeping with the other infinitives in this verse that refer to priestly activities and functions, the translation “bear the ephod” reflects carrying the ephod which was used for divine consultation.
- 1 Samuel 2:29 tc The MT has a plural “you” here, but the LXX and a Qumran ms have the singular. The singular may be the correct reading; the verb “you have honored” later in the verse is singular even in the MT. However, it is more probable that the Lord here refers to Eli and his sons. Note the plural in the second half of the verse (“you have made yourselves fat”).
- 1 Samuel 2:29 tn Heb “which I commanded, dwelling place.” The noun is functioning as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb. Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation.tc The LXX reads “Why did you look at my incense and my sacrifice with a shameless eye?” The LXX may have read the first verb as being from the root נָבַט (nabat) “to look at” rather than the rare בָּעַט (baʿat) “to kick.” And the final consonants of מָעוֹן (maʿon) are easily confused with עַיִן (ʿayin). But the rest of the variation appears inexplicable as a copying error from either direction.
- 1 Samuel 2:30 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
- 1 Samuel 2:30 tn Heb “walk about before.”
- 1 Samuel 2:30 tn Heb “may it be far removed from me.”
- 1 Samuel 2:31 tn Heb “chop off your arm.” The arm here symbolizes strength and activity.
- 1 Samuel 2:31 tn Heb “arm.”
- 1 Samuel 2:32 tn Heb “you will see [the] trouble of [the] dwelling place.” Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun is supplied in the translation (see v. 29).
- 1 Samuel 2:32 tn Heb “in all which he does good with Israel.”
- 1 Samuel 2:32 tc The LXX and a Qumran manuscript have the first person pronoun “my” here.
- 1 Samuel 2:32 tn Heb “all the days.”
- 1 Samuel 2:33 tc The MT reads “your eyes.” The LXX, a Qumran ms, and a few old Latin mss read “his eyes.”
- 1 Samuel 2:33 tn Heb “to cause your eyes to fail.” Elsewhere this verb, when used of eyes, refers to bloodshot eyes resulting from weeping, prolonged staring, or illness (see Lev 26:16; Pss 69:3; 119:82; Lam 2:11; 4:17).
- 1 Samuel 2:33 tn The MT reads “and to cause your soul grief.” The LXX, a Qumran ms, and a few old Latin mss read “his soul.”
- 1 Samuel 2:33 tn Heb “and all the increase of your house.”
- 1 Samuel 2:33 tc The MT says “all the increase of your house will die men.” The LXX and a Qumran ms, read “all…will die by the sword of men.” This reading (cf. ESV, NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT) makes sense syntactically. Some translations take “men” adverbially, “die as men,” and then understand it to mean something like “all…will die in the prime of life” (cf. NASB, NIV, KJV). However, the proposed syntax is very odd and such an adverbial function for “men” is otherwise unattested.
- 1 Samuel 2:34 tn Heb “and this to you [is] the sign which will come to both of your sons.”
- 1 Samuel 2:35 tn Heb “house.”
- 1 Samuel 2:35 tn Heb “and he will walk about before my anointed one all the days.”
- 1 Samuel 2:36 tn Heb “a piece of silver” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
1 Samuel 2:27-36
Christian Standard Bible
27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him,(A) “This is what the Lord says: ‘Didn’t I reveal myself to your forefather’s family[a] when they were in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh’s palace?(B) 28 Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose your house[b] to be my priests, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence.(C) I also gave your forefather’s family all the Israelite food offerings. 29 Why, then, do all of you despise my sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship?(D) You have honored your sons more than me,(E) by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of my people Israel.’
30 “Therefore, this is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I did say that your family and your forefather’s family would walk before me forever.(F) But now,’ this is the Lord’s declaration, ‘no longer! For those who honor me I will honor,(G) but those who despise me will be disgraced.(H) 31 Look, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your forefather’s family, so that none in your family will reach old age.(I) 32 You will see distress in the place of worship,(J) in spite of all that is good in Israel, and no one in your family will ever again reach old age.(K) 33 Any man from your family I do not cut off from my altar will bring grief[c] and sadness to you. All your descendants will die violently.[d][e] 34 This will be the sign that will come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas:(L) both of them will die on the same day.(M)
35 “‘Then I will raise up a faithful priest(N) for myself. He will do whatever is in my heart and mind. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him,(O) and he will walk before my anointed one for all time.(P) 36 Anyone who is left in your family will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread. He will say: Please appoint me to some priestly office so I can have a piece of bread to eat.’”
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