I Will Bless the Lord

Of David.

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.

Hannah's Prayer

2 And Hannah prayed and said,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home ^(T)to Ramah. ^(U)And the boy^[a] was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

Eli's Worthless Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^(V)worthless men. ^(W)They did not know the Lord. ¹³ The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, ¹⁴ and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Moreover, ^(X)before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” ¹⁶ And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷ Thus the sin of the young men was very great ^(Y)in the sight of the Lord, ^(Z)for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

^18 (AA)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy ^(AB)clothed with a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year ^(AC)when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman ^(AD)for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.

^21 (AE)Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. ^(AF)And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

²² Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who ^(AG)were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ²³ And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. ²⁴ No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. ²⁵ If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, ^(AH)for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the boy Samuel ^(AI)continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.

The Lord Rejects Eli's Household

²⁷ And there came ^(AJ)a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ^(AK)‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? ^28 (AL)Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, ^(AM)to wear an ephod before me? ^(AN)I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. ²⁹ Why then do you ^(AO)scorn^[b] my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ ³⁰ Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ^(AP)‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ ^(AQ)but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. ³¹ Behold, ^(AR)the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² Then ^(AS)in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, ^(AT)and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. ³³ The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his^[c] eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants^[d] of your house shall die by the sword of men.^{[e] 34 (AU)}And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die ^(AV)on the same day. ^35 (AW)And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. ^(AX)And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before ^(AY)my anointed forever. ³⁶ And everyone who is left in your house 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 priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”

11 ^(A)Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Head Coverings

² Now I commend you ^(B)because you remember me in everything and ^(C)maintain the traditions ^(D)even as I delivered them to you. ³ But I want you to understand that ^(E)the head of every man is Christ, ^(F)the head of a wife^[a] is her husband,^[b] and ^(G)the head of Christ is God. ⁴ Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, ⁵ but every wife^[c] who prays or ^(H)prophesies ^(I)with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same ^(J)as if her head were shaven. ⁶ For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. ⁷ For a man ought not to cover his head, since ^(K)he is the image and glory of God, but ^(L)woman is the glory of man. ⁸ For ^(M)man was not made from woman, but woman from man. ⁹ Neither was man created for woman, but ^(N)woman for man. ¹⁰ That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.^{[d] 11} Nevertheless, ^(O)in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; ¹² for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And ^(P)all things are from God. ¹³ Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴ Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, ¹⁵ but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. ^16 (Q)If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do ^(R)the churches of God.

The Lord's Supper

¹⁷ But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸ For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, ^(S)I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,^{[e] 19} for ^(T)there must be factions among you in order ^(U)that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. ²⁰ When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. ²¹ For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, ^(V)another gets drunk. ²² What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise ^(W)the church of God and ^(X)humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

²³ For ^(Y)I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that ^(Z)the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for^[f] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”^{[g] 25} In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death ^(AA)until he comes.

^27 (AB)Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord ^(AC)in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning ^(AD)the body and blood of the Lord. ^28 (AE)Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰ That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some ^(AF)have died.^{[h] 31 (AG)}But if we judged^[i] ourselves truly, we would not be judged. ³² But when we are judged by the Lord, ^(AH)we are disciplined^[j] so that we may not be ^(AI)condemned along with the world.

³³ So then, my brothers,^[k] when you come together to eat, wait for^[l] one another— ^34 (AJ)if anyone is hungry, ^(AK)let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things ^(AL)I will give directions ^(AM)when I come.