4The bows of the mighty are broken,
And the faltering are girded with strength.
5Men once sated must hire out for bread;
Men once hungry hunger no more.
While the barren woman bears seven,
The mother of many is forlorn.
6The LORD deals death and gives life,
Casts down into Sheol and raises up.
7The LORD makes poor and makes rich;
He casts down, He also lifts high.
8He raises the poor from the dust,
Lifts up the needy from the dunghill,
Setting them with nobles,
Granting them seats of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s;
He has set the world upon them.
9He guards the steps of His faithful,
But the wicked perish in darkness—
For not by strength shall man prevail.
10The foes of the LORD shall be shattered;
He will thunder against them in the heavens.
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give power to His king,
c-And triumph to-c His anointed one.
11Then Elkanahd [and Hannah] went home to Ramah; and the boy entered the service of the LORD under the priest Eli.
12Now Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they paid no heed to the LORD. 13This is how the priests used to deal with the people: When anyone brought a sacrifice, the priest’s boy would come along with a three-pronged fork while the meat was boiling, 14and he would thrust it into e- the cauldron, or the kettle, or the great pot, or the small cooking-pot;-e and whatever the fork brought up, the priest would take away f-on it.-f This was the practice at Shiloh with all the Israelites who came there. 15[But now] even before the suet was turned into smoke, the priest’s boy would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Hand over some meat to roast for the priest; for he won’t accept boiled meat from you, only raw.” 16And if the man said to him, “Let them first turn the suet into smoke, and then take as much as you want,” he would reply, “No, hand it over at once or I’ll take it by force.” 17The sin of the young men against the LORD was very great, for the men treated the LORD’s offerings impiously.
18Samuel was engaged in the service of the LORD as an attendant, girded with a linen ephod. 19His mother would also make a little robe for him and bring it up to him every year, when she made the pilgrimage with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. 20Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the LORD grantg you offspring by this woman in place of the loan she made to the LORD.” Then they would return home. 21 Forh the LORD took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Young Samuel meanwhile grew up in the service of the LORD.
22Now Eli was very old. When he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who i-performed tasks-i at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, 23he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I get evil reports about you from the people on all hands. 24Don’t, my sons! It is no favorable report I hear the people of the LORD spreading about. 25If a man sins against a man, the LORD may pardoni him; but if a man offends against God, who can i-obtain pardon-i for him?” But they ignored their father’s plea; for the LORD was resolved that they should die. 26Young Samuel, meanwhile, grew in esteem and favor both with God and with men.
27A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus said the LORD: Lo, I revealed Myself to your father’s house in Egypt when they were subject to the House of Pharaoh, 28and I chose them from among all the tribes of Israel to be My priests—to ascend My altar, to burn incense, [and] to carry an ephodj before Me—and I assigned to your father’s house all offerings by fire of the Israelites. 29Why, then, do you k-maliciously trample upon the sacrifices and offerings that I have commanded?-k You have honored your sons more than Me, feeding on the first portions of every offering of My people Israel.l 30Assuredly—declares the LORD, the God of Israel—I intended for you and your father’s house to remain in My service forever. But now—declares the LORD—far be it from Me! For I honor those who honor Me, but those who spurn Me shall be dishonored. 31A time is coming when I will break your power and that of your father’s house, and there shall be no elder in your house. 32You will gaze grudginglym at all the bounty that will be bestowed on Israel, but there shall never be an elder in your house. 33i-I shall not cut off all your offspring from My altar; [but,] to make your eyes pine and your spirit languish, all the increase in your house shall die as [ordinary] men.-i 34And this shall be a sign for you: The fate of your two sons Hophni and Phinehas—they shall both die on the same day. 35And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who will act in accordance with My wishes and My purposes. I will build for him an enduring house, and he shall walk before My anointed evermore. 36And all the survivors of your house shall come and bow low to him for the sake of a money fee and a loaf of bread, and shall say, ‘Please, assign me to one of the priestly duties, that I may have a morsel of bread to eat.”’
3 Young Samuel was in the service of the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; prophecy was not widespread. 2One day, Eli was asleep in his usual place; his eyes had begun to fail and he could barely see. 3The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the Ark of God was. 4The LORD called out to Samuel, and he answered, “I’m coming.” 5He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But he replied, “I didn’t call you; go back to sleep.” So he went back and lay down. 6Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” Samuel rose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But he replied, “I didn’t call, my son; go back to sleep.”— 7Now Samuel had not yet experienced the LORD; the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.—8The LORD called Samuel again, a third time, and he rose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the boy. 9And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down. If you are called again, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.”’ And Samuel went to his place and lay down.
10The LORD came, and stood there, and He called as before: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 11The LORD said to Samuel: “I am going to do in Israel such a thing that both ears of anyone who hears about it will tingle. 12In that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I spoke concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13And I declare to him that I sentence his house to endless punish ment for the iniquity he knew about—how his sons committed sacrilege a-at will-a—and he did not rebuke them. 14Assuredly, I swear concerning the house of Eli that the iniquity of the house of Eli will never be expiated by sacrifice or offering.”
15Samuel lay there until morning; and then he opened the doors of the House of the LORD. Samuel was afraid to report the vision to Eli, 16but Eli summoned Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son”; and he answered, “Here,” 17And [Eli] asked, “What did He say to you? Keep nothing from me. b-Thus and more may God do to you-b if you keep from me a single word of all that He said to you!” 18Samuel then told him everything, withholding nothing from him. And [Eli] said, “He is the LORD; He will do what He deems right.”
19Samuel grew up and the LORD was with him: He did not leave any of Samuel’sc predictions unfulfilled. 20All Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was trustworthy as a prophet of the LORD. 21And the LORD continued to appear at Shiloh: the LORD revealed Himself to
4 Samuel at Shiloh with the word of the LORD; 1and Samuel’s word went forth to all Israel.
aIsrael marched out to engage the Philistines in battle; they encamped near Eben-ezer, while the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2The Philistines arrayed themselves against Israel; and when the battle was fought,b Israel was routed by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3When the [Israelite] troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the LORD put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from Shiloh; thus He will be present among us and will deliver us from the hands of our enemies.” 4So the troops sent men to Shiloh; there Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were in charge of the Ark of the Covenant of God, and they brought down from there the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of Hosts Enthroned on the Cherubim.
5When the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD entered the camp, all Israel burst into a great shout,
