1 Samuel 2
New King James Version

Hannah’s Prayer^(A)

2 And Hannah^(B)prayed and said:

^(C)“My heart rejoices in theLord;
^(D)My^[a]horn is exalted in theLord.
^[b]I smile at my enemies,
Because I^(E)rejoice in Your salvation.

²“No^(F)one is holy like theLord,
Forthere is^(G)none besides You,
Noris thereany^(H)rock like our God.

³“Talk no more so very proudly;
^(I)Let no arrogance come from your mouth,
For theLordisthe God of^(J)knowledge;
And by Him actions are weighed.

⁴“The^(K)bows of the mighty menarebroken,
And those who stumbled are girded with strength.
⁵Those who werefull have hired themselves out for bread,
And the hungry have ceasedto hunger.
Even^(L)the barren has borne seven,
And^(M)she who has many children has become feeble.

⁶“The^(N)Lordkills and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and brings up.
⁷TheLord^(O)makes poor and makes rich;
^(P)He brings low and lifts up.
⁸^(Q)He raises the poor from the dust
Andlifts the beggar from the ash heap,
^(R)To setthemamong princes
And make them inherit the throne of glory.

^(S)“For the pillars of the eartharetheLord’s,
And He has set the world upon them.
⁹^(T)He will guard the feet of His saints,
But the^(U)wicked shall be silent in darkness.

“For by strength no man shall prevail.
¹⁰The adversaries of theLordshall be^(V)broken in pieces;
^(W)From heaven He will thunder against them.
^(X)TheLordwill judge the ends of the earth.

^(Y)“He will give^(Z)strength to His king,
And^(AA)exalt the^[c]horn of His anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child^[d]ministered to theLordbefore Eli the priest.

The Wicked Sons of Eli

¹²Now the sons of Eliwere^(AB)corrupt;^[e]^(AC)they did not know theLord.¹³And the priests’ custom with the peoplewas thatwhen any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling.¹⁴Then he would thrustitinto the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in^(AD)Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.¹⁵Also, before they^(AE)burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.”

¹⁶Andifthe man said to him, “They should really burn the fat first;thenyou may takeas muchas your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No,but you must giveitnow; and if not, I will takeitby force.”

¹⁷Therefore the sin of the young men was very great^(AF)before theLord, for men^(AG)abhorred^[f]the offering of theLord.

Samuel’s Childhood Ministry

¹⁸^(AH)But Samuel ministered before theLord,even asa child,^(AI)wearing a linen ephod.¹⁹Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bringitto him year by year when she^(AJ)came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.²⁰And Eli^(AK)would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “TheLordgive you descendants from this woman for the^[g]loan that was^(AL)given to theLord.” Then they would go to their own home.

²¹And theLord^(AM)visited^[h]Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel^(AN)grew before theLord.

Prophecy Against Eli’s Household

²²Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel,^[i]and how they lay with^(AO)the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.²³So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.²⁴No, my sons! Forit isnot a good report that I hear. You make theLord’s people transgress.²⁵If one man sins against another,^(AP)God^[j]will judge him. But if a man^(AQ)sins against theLord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father,^(AR)because theLorddesired to kill them.

²⁶And the child Samuel^(AS)grew in stature, and^(AT)in favor both with theLordand men.

²⁷Then a^(AU)man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says theLord:^(AV)‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?²⁸Did I not^(AW)choose him out of all the tribes of Israelto beMy priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And^(AX)did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?²⁹Why do you^(AY)kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commandedin My^(AZ)dwelling place, and honor your sons more than^(BA)Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’³⁰Therefore theLordGod of Israel says:^(BB)‘I said indeedthatyour house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now theLordsays:^(BC)‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and^(BD)those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.³¹Behold,^(BE)the days are coming that I will cut off your^[k]arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.³²And you will see an enemyin Mydwelling place,despiteall the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be^(BF)an old man in your house forever.³³But any of your menwhomI do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age.³⁴Now thisshall be^(BG)a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas:^(BH)in one day they shall die, both of them.³⁵Then^(BI)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priestwhoshall do according to whatisin My heart and in My mind.^(BJ)I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before^(BK)My anointed forever.³⁶^(BL)And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will comeandbow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please,^[l]put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”