1 Samuel 2 — Read & Listen Online

Hannah Rejoices in Our Father

Chapter 2.

Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in my Father; my horn is lifted high in my Father. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. "There is none holy like our Father; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our Father. "Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for our Father is our Father of knowledge, and by him deeds are weighed. "The bows of the mighty are shattered, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. "Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry hunger no more. The barren woman has borne seven, but she who had many children is forlorn. "Our Father puts to death and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. ¹ "Our Father makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he lifts up. "He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to seat them with princes and give them a throne of honor. For the pillars of the earth belong to our Father, and on them he has set the world. "He guards the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked are silenced in darkness; for not by strength does anyone prevail. "Those who oppose our Father will be shattered; he will thunder against them from heaven. Our Father will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and lift high the horn of his anointed."

Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered to our Father in the presence of Eli the priest.

The Worthless Sons of Eli

Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know our Father. ² Now this was the priests' practice with the people: whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. Even before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat to roast. He will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw."

And if the man said to him, "Let them burn the fat first, then take whatever you want," the servant would answer, "No, give it to me now; if you don't, I will take it by force." So the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of our Father, for they treated the offering of our Father with contempt. But Samuel was ministering before our Father, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. ³ Each year his mother made him a little robe and brought it to him when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, "May our Father give you children by this woman in place of the one she asked of him and gave to our Father." And they would return to their home. Indeed our Father was gracious to Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of our Father.

Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. No, my sons; the report I hear is not good — it is spreading among the people of our Father. If someone sins against another, our Father may mediate for him; but if someone sins against him, who can intercede for him?" Yet they would not listen to their father's voice, for it was our Father's will to put them to death.

And the boy Samuel kept growing — in stature and in favor with our Father and with people.

Our Father Judges Eli's House

Now a man of our Father came to Eli and said to him, "This is what our Father says: 'Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh's house? I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, 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 Israelites. Why then do you scorn my sacrifice and my offering 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?' "Therefore our Father of Israel declares: 'I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before me forever.' But now our Father declares: 'Far be it from me! For those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. Look, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that no one in your family will reach old age. You will look on the distress of my dwelling, despite all the good done for Israel, and never again will there be an old man in your house. Yet I will not cut off every one of yours from my altar; one will be spared to weep his eyes out and grieve his heart, but all your descendants will die in the prime of life. And this will be the sign to you, what will happen to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: both of them will die on the same day. Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a lasting house, and he will serve before my anointed forever. ⁴ And everyone left in your house will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and will plead, 'Please assign me to some priestly office so I can have a morsel of bread to eat.'"

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