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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 (A)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, (B)for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.
26 Now the boy Samuel (C)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 (D)a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, (E)‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? 28 (F)Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, (G)to wear an ephod before me? (H)I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. 29 Why then do you (I)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: (J)‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ (K)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, (L)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 (M)in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, (N)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 (O)And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die (P)on the same day. 35 (Q)And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. (R)And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before (S)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.”’”
The Lord Calls Samuel
3 (T)Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. (U)And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
2 At that time Eli, (V)whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 (W)The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down (X)in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel (Y)at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli (Z)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 (AA)And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, (AB)because his sons were blaspheming God,[e] (AC)and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli (AD)that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. (AE)May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, (AF)“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”
19 (AG)And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him (AH)and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel (AI)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel (AJ)at Shiloh (AK)by the word of the Lord.
The Philistines Capture the Ark
4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at (AL)Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at (AM)Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here (AN)from Shiloh, that it[f] may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, (AO)who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel (AP)gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9 (AQ)Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews (AR)as they have been to you; be men and fight.”
10 So the Philistines fought, (AS)and Israel was defeated, (AT)and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 (AU)And the ark of God was captured, (AV)and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Death of Eli
12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, (AW)with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, (AX)Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old (AY)and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, (AZ)“How did it go, my son?” 17 He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward (BA)from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, (BB)“Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the child (BC)Ichabod, saying, (BD)“The glory has departed[g] from Israel!” because (BE)the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, (BF)for the ark of God has been captured.”
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, (A)whoever hears my word and (B)believes him who sent me has eternal life. He (C)does not come into judgment, but (D)has passed from death to life.
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, (E)an hour is coming, and is now here, when (F)the dead will hear (G)the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear (H)will live. 26 (I)For as the Father has life in himself, (J)so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he (K)has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for (L)an hour is coming when (M)all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, (N)those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
Witnesses to Jesus
30 (O)“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and (P)my judgment is just, because (Q)I seek not my own will (R)but the will of him who sent me. 31 (S)If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is (T)another who bears witness about me, and (U)I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 (V)You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that (W)the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and (X)shining lamp, and (Y)you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But (Z)the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For (AA)the works that the Father has given me (AB)to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, (AC)bear witness about me that (AD)the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me (AE)has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, (AF)his form you have never seen, 38 and (AG)you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 (AH)You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and (AI)it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet (AJ)you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 (AK)I do not receive glory from people. 42 But (AL)I know that you do not have (AM)the love of God within you. 43 I have come (AN)in my Father's name, and (AO)you do not receive me. (AP)If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and (AQ)do not seek the glory that comes from (AR)the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, (AS)on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for (AT)he wrote of me. 47 But (AU)if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good
106 (A)Praise the Lord!
(B)Oh give thanks to the Lord, (C)for he is good,
(D)for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
or declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice,
who (E)do righteousness at all times!
4 (F)Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
help me when you save them,[a]
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of your (G)chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 (H)Both we and (I)our fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wondrous works;
they (J)did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but (K)rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them (L)for his name's sake,
(M)that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He (N)rebuked the Red Sea, and it (O)became dry,
and he (P)led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he (Q)saved them from the hand of the foe
and (R)redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11 And (S)the waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
12 Then (T)they believed his words;
they (U)sang his praise.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.