Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Terrible Prophecy About Eli’s Family

²⁷ A man of God came to Eli and said, “The Lord says, ‘I appeared to your ancestors^[a] when they were slaves of Pharaoh. ²⁸ From all the tribes of Israel, I chose your tribe to be my priests. I chose them to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and wear the ephod. I also let your tribe have the meat from the sacrifices that the Israelites give to me. ²⁹ So why don’t you respect these gifts and sacrifices? You honor your sons more than me. You become fat eating the best parts of the meat that the Israelites bring to me.’

³⁰ “The Lord, the God of Israel, promised that your father’s family would serve him forever. But now the Lord says, ‘That will never be! I will honor people who honor me, but bad things will happen to those who refuse to respect me. ³¹ The time is coming when I will destroy all your descendants. No one in your family will live to be an old man. ³² Good things will happen to Israel, but you will see bad things happening at home.^[b] No one in your family will live to be an old man. ³³ There is only one man I will save to serve as priest at my altar. He will live until his eyes wear out and his strength is gone. But all of your descendants will die by the sword.^{[c] 34} I will give you a sign to show that these things will come true. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day. ³⁵ I will choose a priest I can trust. This priest will listen to me and do what I want. I will make his family strong, and he will always serve before my chosen king.^{[d] 36} Then whoever is left in your family will come and bow down before this priest and beg for a little money or a piece of bread. They will say, “Please give me a job as priest so that I can have some food to eat.”’”

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ What about you? You say you are a Jew. You trust in the law and proudly claim to be close to God. ¹⁸ You know what God wants you to do. And you know what is important, because you have learned the law. ¹⁹ You think you are a guide for people who don’t know the right way, a light for those who are in the dark. ²⁰ You think you can show foolish people what is right. And you think you are a teacher for those who are just beginning to learn. You have the law, and so you think you know everything and have all truth. ²¹ You teach others, so why don’t you teach yourself? You tell them not to steal, but you yourself steal. ²² You say they must not commit adultery, but you yourself are guilty of that sin. You hate idols, but you steal them from their temples. ²³ You are so proud that you have God’s law, but you bring shame to God by breaking his law. ²⁴ As the Scriptures say, “People in other nations insult God because of you.”^[a]

²⁵ If you follow the law, then your circumcision has meaning. But if you break the law, then it is as if you were never circumcised. ²⁶ Those who are not Jews are not circumcised. But if they do what the law says, it is as if they were circumcised. ²⁷ You have the written law and circumcision, but you break the law. So those who are not circumcised in their bodies, but still obey the law, will show that you are guilty.

²⁸ You are not a true Jew if you are only a Jew in your physical body. True circumcision is not only on the outside of the body. ²⁹ A true Jew is one who is a Jew inside. True circumcision is done in the heart. It is done by the Spirit, not by the written law. And anyone who is circumcised in the heart by the Spirit gets praise from God, not from people.