1 Samuel 2:20-34

2:20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord raise up for you descendants ¹  from this woman to replace the one that she ²  dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would go to their ³  home. 2:21 So the Lord graciously attended to Hannah, and she was able to conceive and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the Lord’s sanctuary. ⁴ 

2:22 Now Eli was very old when he heard about everything that his sons used to do to all the people of Israel ⁵  and how they used to have sex with ⁶  the women who were stationed at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 2:23 He said to them, “Why do you behave in this way? For I hear about these evil things from all these ⁷  people. 2:24 This ought not to be, ⁸  my sons! For the report that I hear circulating among the Lord’s people is not good. 2:25 If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf. But if a man sins against the Lord, who then will intercede for him?” But Eli’s sons ⁹  would not listen to their father, for the Lord had decided ¹⁰  to kill them.

2:26 Now the boy Samuel was growing up and finding favor both with the Lord and with people.

The Lord Judges the House of Eli

2:27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not plainly ¹¹  reveal myself to your ancestor’s ¹²  house when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh? 2:28 I chose your ancestor ¹³  from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor’s house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites. 2:29 Why are you ¹⁴  scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place? ¹⁵  You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.’

2:30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say ¹⁶  that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve ¹⁷  me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be! ¹⁸  For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed! 2:31 In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength ¹⁹  and the strength ²⁰  of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house! 2:32 You will see trouble in my dwelling place! ²¹  Israel will experience blessings, ²²  but there will not be an old man in your ²³  house for all time. ²⁴  2:33 Any one of you that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause your ²⁵  eyes to fail ²⁶  and will cause you grief. ²⁷  All of those born to your family ²⁸  will die in the prime of life. ²⁹  2:34 This will be a confirming sign for you that will be fulfilled through your two sons, ³⁰  Hophni and Phinehas: in a single day they both will die!

[2:20]  ¹ tn Heb “seed.”

[2:20]  ² tn The MT has a masculine verb here, but in light of the context the reference must be to Hannah. It is possible that the text of the MT is incorrect here (cf. the ancient versions), in which case the text should be changed to read either a passive participle or better, the third feminine singular of the verb. If the MT is correct here, perhaps the masculine is to be understood in a nonspecific and impersonal way, allowing for a feminine antecedent. In any case, the syntax of the MT is unusual here.

[2:20]  ³ tn Heb “his.”

[2:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “with the Lord.” Cf. NAB, TEV “in the service of the Lord”; NIV, NRSV, NLT “in the presence of the Lord”; CEV “at the Lord’s house in Shiloh.”

[2:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[2:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “lie with.”

[2:23]  ⁷ tc For “these” the LXX has “of the Lord” (κυρίου, kuriou), perhaps through the influence of the final phrase of v. 24 (“the people of the Lord”). Somewhat less likely is the view that the MT reading is due to a distorted dittography of the first word of v. 24. The Vulgate lacks the word.

[2:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “no.”

[2:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Eli’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “desired.”

[2:27]  ¹¹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:27]  ¹² tn Heb “to your father’s” (also in vv. 28, 30).

[2:28]  ¹³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Eli’s ancestor, i.e., Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:29]  ¹⁴ tc The MT has a plural “you” here, but the LXX and a Qumran ms have the singular. The singular may be the correct reading; the verb “you have honored” later in the verse is singular even in the MT. However, it is more probable that the Lord here refers to Eli and his sons. Note the plural in the second half of the verse (“you have made yourselves fat”).

[2:29]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “which I commanded, dwelling place.” The noun is functioning as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb. Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation.

[2:30]  ¹⁶ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:30]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “walk about before.”

[2:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “may it be far removed from me.”

[2:31]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “chop off your arm.” The arm here symbolizes strength and activity.

[2:31]  ²⁰ tn Heb “arm.”

[2:32]  ²¹ tn Heb “you will see [the] trouble of [the] dwelling place.” Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun is supplied in the translation (see v. 29).

[2:32]  ²² tn Heb “in all which he does good with Israel.”

[2:32]  ²³ tc The LXX and a Qumran manuscript have the first person pronoun “my” here.

[2:32]  ²⁴ tn Heb “all the days.”

[2:33]  ²⁵ tc The LXX, a Qumran ms, and a few old Latin mss have the third person pronominal suffix “his” here.

[2:33]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to cause your eyes to fail.” Elsewhere this verb, when used of eyes, refers to bloodshot eyes resulting from weeping, prolonged staring, or illness (see Lev 26:16; Pss 69:3; 119:82; Lam 2:11; 4:17).

[2:33]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and to cause your soul grief.”

[2:33]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and all the increase of your house.”

[2:33]  ²⁹ tc The text is difficult. The MT literally says “they will die [as] men.” Apparently the meaning is that they will be cut off in the prime of their life without reaching old age. The LXX and a Qumran ms, however, have the additional word “sword” (“they will die by the sword of men”). This is an easier reading (cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT), but that fact is not in favor of its originality.

[2:34]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and this to you [is] the sign which will come to both of your sons.”