Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Prayer in Times of Trouble

²⁷ One day a prophet came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord:

When your ancestors were slaves of the king of Egypt, I came and showed them who I am. ^28-29 (A) Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose your family to be my priests. I wanted them to offer sacrifices and burn incense to me and to find out from me what I want my people to do. I commanded everyone to bring their sacrifices here where I live, and I allowed you and your family to keep those that were not offered to me on the altar.

But you honor your sons instead of me! You don't respect^[a] the sacrifices and offerings that are brought to me, and you've all grown fat from eating the best parts.

³⁰ I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I promised to always let your family serve me as priests, but now I tell you that I cannot do this any longer! I honor anyone who honors me, but I put a curse on anyone who hates me. ³¹ The time will come when I will kill you and everyone else in your family. Not one of you will live to an old age.

³² Your family^[b] will have a lot of trouble. I will be kind to Israel,^[c] but everyone in your family will die young. ³³ If I let anyone from your family be a priest, his^[d] life will be full of sadness and sorrow. But most of the men in your family will die a violent death!^{[e] 34 (B)} To prove to you that I will do these things, your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day.

³⁵ I have chosen someone else to be my priest, someone who will be faithful and obey me. I will always let his family serve as priests and help my chosen king. ³⁶ But if anyone is left from your family, he will come to my priest and beg for money or a little bread. He may even say to my priest, “Please let me be a priest, so I will at least have something to eat.”

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷ Some of you call yourselves Jews. You trust in the Law and take pride in God. ¹⁸ By reading the Scriptures you learn how God wants you to behave, and you discover what is right. ¹⁹ You are sure that you are a guide for the blind and a light for all who are in the dark. ²⁰ And since there is knowledge and truth in God's Law, you think you can instruct fools and teach young people.

²¹ But how can you teach others when you refuse to learn? You preach it is wrong to steal. But do you steal? ²² You say people should be faithful in marriage. But are you faithful? You hate idols, yet you rob their temples. ²³ You take pride in the Law, but you disobey the Law and bring shame to God. ^24 (A) It is just as the Scriptures tell us, “You have made foreigners say insulting things about God.”

²⁵ Being circumcised is worthwhile, if you obey the Law. But if you don't obey the Law, you are no better off than people who are not circumcised. ²⁶ In fact, if they obey the Law, they are as good as anyone who is circumcised. ²⁷ So everyone who obeys the Law, but has never been circumcised, will condemn you. Even though you are circumcised and have the Law, you still don't obey its teachings.

²⁸ Just because you live like a Jew and are circumcised doesn't make you a real Jew. ^29 (B) To be a real Jew you must obey the Law. True circumcision is something that happens deep in your heart, not something done to your body. And besides, you should want praise from God and not from humans.