⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you ^(A)in a thick cloud, that ^(B)the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also ^(C)believe you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, ¹⁰ the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(D)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them ^(E)wash their garments ¹¹ and be ready for the third day. For on the third day ^(F)the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. ^(G)Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. ¹³ No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot;^[a] whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When ^(H)the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” ¹⁴ So Moses ^(I)went down from the mountain to the people and ^(J)consecrated the people; ^(K)and they washed their garments. ¹⁵ And he said to the people, “Be ready for the ^(L)third day; ^(M)do not go near a woman.”

¹⁶ On the morning of the ^(N)third day there were ^(O)thunders and lightnings and ^(P)a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud ^(Q)trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp ^(R)trembled. ¹⁷ Then ^(S)Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Now ^(T)Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and ^(U)the whole mountain trembled greatly. ¹⁹ And as the ^(V)sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and ^(W)God answered him in thunder. ²⁰ The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord ^(X)to look and many of them perish. ²² Also let the priests who come near to the Lord ^(Y)consecrate themselves, lest the Lord ^(Z)break out against them.” ²³ And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ^(AA)‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” ²⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people ^(AB)break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The Death of Nadab and Abihu

10 Now ^(A)Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, ^(B)each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered ^(C)unauthorized^[a] fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. ² And fire ^(D)came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. ³ Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among ^(E)those who are near me ^(F)I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” ^(G)And Aaron held his peace.

⁴ And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of ^(H)Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near; carry your brothers away from the front of the sanctuary and out of the camp.” ⁵ So they came near and carried them in their coats out of the camp, as Moses had said. ⁶ And Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar his sons, ^(I)“Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not tear your clothes, lest you die, and ^(J)wrath come upon all the congregation; but let your brothers, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning that the Lord has kindled. ^7 (K)And do not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting, lest you die, ^(L)for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.” And they did according to the word of Moses.

⁸ And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, ^9 (M)“Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. ¹⁰ You are to ^(N)distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, ¹¹ and ^(O)you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

¹² Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his surviving sons: “Take the ^(P)grain offering that is left of the Lord's food offerings, and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for ^(Q)it is most holy. ¹³ You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons' due, from the Lord's food offerings, for ^(R)so I am commanded. ¹⁴ But the ^(S)breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed you shall eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you, for they are given as your due and your sons' due from the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the people of Israel. ^15 (T)The thigh that is contributed and the breast that is waved they shall bring with the food offerings of the fat pieces to wave for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be yours and your sons' with you as a due forever, as the Lord has commanded.”

¹⁶ Now Moses diligently inquired about ^(U)the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it was burned up! And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the surviving sons of Aaron, saying, ^17 (V)“Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since ^(W)it is a thing most holy and has been given to you that you may bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord? ¹⁸ Behold, ^(X)its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, ^(Y)as I commanded.” ¹⁹ And Aaron said to Moses, “Behold, ^(Z)today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and yet such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, ^(AA)would the Lord have approved?” ²⁰ And when Moses heard that, he approved.

Eli's Worthless Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^(A)worthless men. ^(B)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, ^(C)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 ^(D)in the sight of the Lord, ^(E)for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

^18 (F)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy ^(G)clothed with a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year ^(H)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 ^(I)for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.

^21 (J)Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. ^(K)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 ^(L)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, ^(M)for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the boy Samuel ^(N)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 ^(O)a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ^(P)‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? ^28 (Q)Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, ^(R)to wear an ephod before me? ^(S)I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. ²⁹ Why then do you ^(T)scorn^[a] 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: ^(U)‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ ^(V)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, ^(W)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 ^(X)in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, ^(Y)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^[b] eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants^[c] of your house shall die by the sword of men.^{[d] 34 (Z)}And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die ^(AA)on the same day. ^35 (AB)And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. ^(AC)And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before ^(AD)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.”’”

Saul's Unlawful Sacrifice

^8 (A)He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. ¹¹ Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, ¹² I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, ^(B)“You have done foolishly. ^(C)You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now ^(D)your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man ^(E)after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince^[a] over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^15 (A)And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of ^(B)the money-changers and the seats of those who sold ^(C)pigeons. ¹⁶ And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. ¹⁷ And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ^(D)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But ^(E)you have made it a den of robbers.” ¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and ^(F)were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because ^(G)all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.