1 Samuel 2

Revised Geneva Translation

2 And Hannah prayed, and said, “My heart rejoices in the LORD. My horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I rejoice in Your salvation.

² “There is none as Holy as the LORD. Yea, there is none besides You; and there is no god like our God.

³ “No longer speak so exceedingly proudly. Do let not arrogancy come out of your mouth. For the LORD is a God of knowledge; and by Him enterprises are established.

⁴ “The bow and the mighty men are broken; and the weak have girded themselves with strength.

⁵ “Those who were full are now hired for bread, yet the hungry are no more. Even the barren has borne seven; and she who had many children is now feeble.

⁶ “The LORD kills and makes alive, brings down to the grave and raises up.

⁷ “The LORD makes poor and makes rich, brings low and exalts.

⁸ “He raises up the poor from the dust and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, to set among princes and to make them inherit the seat of glory. For the pillars of the Earth are the LORD’s, and he has set the world upon them.

⁹ “He will keep the feet of His saints; and the wicked shall keep silence in darkness. For in might shall no man be strong.

¹⁰ “The LORD’s adversaries shall be destroyed, and out of Heaven shall He thunder upon them. The LORD shall judge the ends of the world, and shall give power to His King, and exalt the horn of His Anointed.”

¹¹ And Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house, and the child ministered to the LORD before Eli the Priest.

¹² Now the sons of Eli were wicked men and did not know the LORD.

¹³ For the Priests’ custom toward the people was this: when any man offered sacrifice, the Priest’s boy came with a three-toothed fleshhook in his hand while the flesh was boiling,

¹⁴ and thrust it into the kettle or into the caldron or into the pan, or into the pot. All that the fleshhook would bring up the Priest took for himself. Thus they did to all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh.

¹⁵ Yea, before they burnt the fat, the Priest’s boy came and said to the man who offered, “Give me flesh to roast for the Priest. For he will not have boiled flesh from you, but raw.”

¹⁶ And if any man said to him, “Let them burn the fat according to the custom, then take as much as your heart desires,” then he would answer, “No, but you shall give it now. And if you will not, I will take it by force.”

¹⁷ Therefore, the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD; for men abhorred the Offering of the LORD.

¹⁸ Now Samuel, being a young child, ministered before the LORD girded with a linen ephod.

¹⁹ And his mother made him a little coat and brought it to him from year to year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

²⁰ And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, “The LORD give you seed of this woman for the petition that she asked of the LORD.” And they departed to their place.

²¹ And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child, Samuel, grew before the LORD.

²² So, Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the Door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

²³ And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear evil reports of you from all the people.

²⁴ “Do no more, my sons. For it is not a good report that I hear, that you make the LORD’s people trespass.

²⁵ “If one man sins against another, the Judge shall judge it. But if a man sins against the LORD, who will plead for him?” Nevertheless they did not obey the voice of their father; because the LORD wanted to kill them.

²⁶ Now the child, Samuel, profited and grew and was in favor, both with the LORD and also with men.

²⁷ And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Did not I plainly appear to the House of your [v]father when they were in Egypt, in Pharaoh’s house?

²⁸ ‘And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My Priest, to offer upon My Altar, and to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And I gave to the House of your father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel.

²⁹ ‘Why have you kicked against My Sacrifice and My Offering which I Commanded in My Tabernacle, and honor your children above Me, to make yourselves fat from the firstfruits of all the Offerings of Israel My people?’

³⁰ “Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I said that your House, and the House of your father, should walk before Me, forever.’ But now, the LORD says: ‘It shall not be so. For those who honor Me, I will honor. And those who despise Me, shall be despised.

³¹ ‘Behold, the days come that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father’s House, so that there shall not be an old man in your House.

³² ‘And you shall see your enemy in the habitation of the LORD, in all things with which God shall bless Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your House, forever.

³³ ‘Nevertheless, I will not destroy every one of yours from My Altar, to make your eyes fail and to make your heart sorrowful. And all the multitude of your House shall die men.

³⁴ ‘And this shall be a sign to you, that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. In one day, they shall both die.

³⁵ ‘And I will stir up a faithful Priest, who shall do according to My Heart, and according to My Mind. And I will build him a sure House. And he shall walk before My anointed, forever.

³⁶ ‘And all who are left in your House, shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, “Please appoint me to one of the priest’s offices, so that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”