1 Samuel 2:2-27

²There's no one holy like the Lord—no one apart from you, no Rock like our God!

³Don't speak so conceitedly! Don't talk so arrogantly! For the Lord is a God who knows everything—doesn't he judge what you do?

⁴The weapons of the powerful are shattered, while those who stumble along are made strong.

⁵Those who used to have plenty of food now have to work to earn a crust, while those who used to be hungry now have become fat. The woman who was childless now has seven children, while the woman with many children fades away.

⁶The Lord kills and he revives; he sends some down to the grave, but he raises others up.

⁷The Lord makes some poor, but others rich; he brings some down, but he lifts others up.

⁸He helps the poor up from the dust; he raises the lowborn from the trash pile and seats them with the upper class in places of honor. For the foundations of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the world on them.

⁹He will take care of those who trust him, but the wicked vanish into the darkness, for people don't succeed through their own strength.

¹⁰The Lord crushes his enemies, he thunders against them from heaven. He rules the whole earth; he strengthens his king, and gives power to the one he has anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went home to Ramah while the boy stayed with Eli the priest serving the Lord.

¹²Eli's sons were worthless men who didn't have any time for the Lord

¹³or their role as priests to the people. They would send one of their servants over with a fork when anyone came to offer a sacrifice.

¹⁴The servant would stick the fork into the pot while the meat from the sacrifice was being boiled, and would take whatever meat came up on the fork to Eli's sons. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.

¹⁵In fact even before the fat of the sacrifice was burned up the servant would come and would demand from the man sacrificing, “Give me meat to roast for the priest. He doesn't want boiled meat from you—he wants it raw.”

¹⁶The man might answer, “Let me first burn up all the fat, and then you can have as much as you want.” But the priest's servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me now. If you don't, I'll take it by force.”

¹⁷The sins of these young men were extremely serious from the Lord's perspective because they were treating with contempt the Lord's offerings.

¹⁸But Samuel served before the Lord—a boy dressed as a priest, wearing a linen ephod.

¹⁹Every year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

²⁰Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to replace the one she prayed for and dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would return home.

²¹The Lord blessed Hannah with three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

²²Eli was very old, however he had heard about all the things his sons were doing to the people of Israel, and how they were seducing the women who were serving at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

²³He asked them, “Why are you doing all this? I keep on hearing from everyone about your evil actions.

²⁴No, my sons, the report I hear about you from the Lord's people isn't good.

²⁵If a man sins against someone, God can intercede for him; but if a man sin against the Lord, who is going to intercede for him?” But they didn't pay attention to what their father said, for the Lord was planning to put them to death.

²⁶The boy Samuel grew physically, and also grew in the approval of both the Lord and the people.

²⁷A man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the Lord says: Didn't I very clearly reveal myself to your forefather's family when they were ruled by Pharaoh in Egypt?