The Daily Audio Bible

The Future of Eli’s Sons

²² Now Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the door of the meeting tent. ²³ And he said to them, “Why do you do such things, the sinful things I hear from all these people? ²⁴ No, my sons, the news is not good which I hear from the Lord’s people. ²⁵ If one man sins against another, God will help make peace for him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who can make peace for him?” Yet they would not listen to what their father said, for it was the Lord’s will to kill them. ²⁶ Now the boy Samuel grew and was in favor both with the Lord and with men.

²⁷ Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says. ‘Did I not let Myself be known to those of your father’s family when they were in Egypt being made to work for Pharaoh’s house? ²⁸ Did I not choose them from all the families of Israel to be My religious leaders, to go up to My altar, to burn special perfume, and to wear a linen vest before Me? Did I not give all the gifts made by fire of the people of Israel to the family of your father? ²⁹ Why do you show no respect to My gifts which I have asked for, and honor your sons more than Me? You make yourselves fat with the best part of every gift given in worship by My people Israel.’ ³⁰ So the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I did promise that those of your family and the family of your father should walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May this be far from Me. For I will honor those who honor Me. And those who hate Me will not be honored. ³¹ See, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s family. So there will not be an old man in your family. ³² You will see the trouble of My family, even in all the good I do for Israel. And an old man will not be in your family forever. ³³ But I will not destroy every man of yours from My altar. Some will be left to cry and be filled with sorrow. But all the children of your family will die in their best years. ³⁴ This will be the special thing that you will see. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will both die on the same day. ³⁵ I will raise up for Myself a faithful religious leader who will act by what is in My heart and mind. I will build him a family to last. And he will walk before My chosen one forever. ³⁶ Everyone who is left in your family will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and say, “I beg you, put me in one of the religious leader’s places so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

Samuel’s Call

3 Now the boy Samuel was working for the Lord with Eli. There were few words from the Lord given in those days, and there were not many special dreams. ² At that time Eli was lying down in his own place. His eyes had become weak and he could not see well. ³ The lamp of God had not gone out yet. And Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord where the special box of God was. ⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel, and Samuel said, “Here I am.” ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call you. Lie down again.” So Samuel went and lay down. ⁶ The Lord called again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Lie down again.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not know the Lord yet. And the Word of the Lord had not been made known to him. ⁸ The Lord called Samuel again for the third time. He got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down. If He calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Then the Lord came and stood and called as He did the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” ¹¹ The Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do a thing in Israel which will make both ears of everyone who hears it feel strange. ¹² On that day I will do all I have said I will do against the family of Eli. ¹³ I have told him that I will punish his family forever for the sin he knew about. Because his sons brought the sin upon themselves, and Eli did not stop them. ¹⁴ So I swear to the family of Eli that the sin of his family will not be paid for with gifts given on the altar forever.”

¹⁵ Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the special dream. ¹⁶ Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And Samuel said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ Eli said, “What did the Lord tell you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more, if you hide anything from me of all He said to you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And Eli said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what is good in His eyes.”

¹⁹ Samuel grew. And the Lord was with him and made everything he said come true. ²⁰ All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had become a man of God. ²¹ The Lord came again to Shiloh. For the Lord made Himself known to Samuel at Shiloh, by the Word of the Lord.

The Philistines Take the Special Box of the Agreement

4 So the news of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They set up their tents beside Ebenezer while the Philistines stayed at Aphek. ² The Philistines came dressed for battle to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel lost to the Philistines. The Philistines killed about 4,000 men on the battle-field. ³ When the people returned to the tents, the leaders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord made us lose today to the Philistines? Let us bring the special box that holds the Law of the Lord here from Shiloh. Then He may come among us and save us from the power of those who fight against us.” ⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh to take the special box with the Law of the Lord of All Who sits above the cherubim. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the special box with the Law of God.

⁵ When the box with the Law of the Lord came among the tents, all Israel called out with a loud noise, so that the earth shook. ⁶ When the Philistines heard the noise, they said, “What does this loud noise among the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the special box of the Lord had come among the Israelites. ⁷ The Philistines were afraid. They said, “A god has come among the tents. Trouble has come to us! Nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Trouble has come to us! Who will save us from the hand of these powerful gods? These are the gods who destroyed the Egyptians with all kinds of troubles in the desert. ⁹ Be strong and act like men, O Philistines. Or you will be made to work for the Hebrews, as they have been made to work for you. Be men and fight.” ¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and Israel lost. Every man ran to his tent. And many were killed, for 30,000 foot soldiers of Israel fell. ¹¹ The special box of God was taken. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Death of Eli

¹² A man of Benjamin ran from the battle and came to Shiloh the same day. His clothes were torn and he had dust on his head. ¹³ When he came, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for he was very worried about the special box of God. The man told the news in the city, and all the city cried out. ¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise in the city, he said, “What does this noise mean?” Then the man came in a hurry and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were weak so that he could not see. ¹⁶ The man said to Eli, “I have come from the battle. I ran from the battle today.” And Eli said, “How did it go, my son?” ¹⁷ The one who brought the news answered, “Israel has run from the Philistines and there have been many people killed. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead. And the special box of God has been taken.” ¹⁸ When he told about the special box of God, Eli fell back off the seat by the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was going to have a child and about to give birth. When she heard the news that the special box of God was taken and that her father-in-law and husband had died, she started to give birth, for her pains came upon her. ²⁰ About the time of her death, the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid. For you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or listen to them. ²¹ She gave the boy the name Ichabod, saying, “The honor has left Israel,” because the special box of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and husband. ²² She said, “The honor has left Israel, for the special box of God was taken.”

²⁴ “For sure, I tell you, anyone who hears My Word and puts his trust in Him Who sent Me has life that lasts forever. He will not be guilty. He has already passed from death into life.

The Good People and the Sinful People Are Raised from the Dead

²⁵ “For sure, I tell you, the time is coming. Yes, the time is here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. Those who hear will live. ²⁶ The Father has life in Himself. He has given power to the Son to have life in Himself. ²⁷ God has given Him the right and the power to say if people are guilty, because He is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not be surprised at this. The time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice. ²⁹ They will come out. Those who have done good will be raised again and will have new life. Those who have been sinful will be raised again and will be told they are guilty and will be punished.

Jesus Tells of John and of Himself

³⁰ “I can do nothing by Myself. I say who is guilty only as My Father tells Me. That way, what I say is right, because I am not trying to do what I want to do. I am doing what the Father, Who sent Me, wants Me to do. ³¹ If I tell about Myself, My words are worth nothing. ³² There is another One Who tells about Me. I know the words He says about Me are true.

³³ “You sent to John the Baptist and he told you the truth. ³⁴ I do not need words from men to say I am right. I say this that you might be saved from the punishment of sin. ³⁵ John the Baptist was a burning and shining light. You were willing for awhile to be glad in his light. ³⁶ I have something greater than John which tells of Me. I am doing works the Father has given Me to do and they are proving that the Father has sent Me. ³⁷ The Father has told of Me and has sent Me. You have never heard His voice. You have never seen Him. ³⁸ You do not have His Word living in your hearts because you do not put your trust in the One He sent.

³⁹ “You do read the Holy Writings. You think you have life that lasts forever just because you read them. They do tell of Me. ⁴⁰ But you do not want to come to Me so you might have life. ⁴¹ I do not take any honor from men. ⁴² I know you and you do not have the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³ I have come in the name of My Father. You do not receive Me. If another person comes in his own name, you will receive him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe when you are always wanting honor from each other? And yet you do not look for the honor that comes from the only God.

⁴⁵ “Do not think that I will tell the Father you are guilty. The one who says you are guilty is Moses. You trust him. ⁴⁶ If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me. For Moses wrote about Me. ⁴⁷ If you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe My Words?”

The Lord Is Good to His People

106 Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever. ² Who can put into words the great works of the Lord? Who can make known all His praise? ³ Happy are those who are faithful in being fair and who always do what is right and good!

⁴ O Lord, remember me when You show favor to Your people. Visit me also when You save them. ⁵ So I may share in the well-being of Your chosen ones. So I may share in the joy of Your nation, and be proud of Your people.

⁶ We have sinned like our fathers. We have done wrong. We have been sinful in our actions. ⁷ Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your powerful works. They did not remember how many times You showed Your loving-kindness. But they turned against You by the sea, the Red Sea. ⁸ Yet He saved them because of the honor of His name, and to make His great power known. ⁹ So He spoke sharp words to the Red Sea and it dried up. And He led them through the sea as through a desert. ¹⁰ He saved them from the hand of those who hated them. He set them free from the hand of those who went against them. ¹¹ And the waters covered those who hated them. Not one of them was left. ¹² Then they believed His promises. They sang His praise.

³⁰ A heart that has peace is life to the body, but wrong desires are like the wasting away of the bones.

³¹ He who makes it hard for the poor brings shame to his Maker, but he who shows loving-favor to those in need honors Him.