1 Samuel 2:1-36, NLT
1 Samuel 2
Hannah’s Prayer of Praise
1Then Hannah prayed:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord!
The Lord has made me strong.*2:1 Hebrew has exalted my horn.
Now I have an answer for my enemies;
I rejoice because you rescued me.
2No one is holy like the Lord!
There is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3“Stop acting so proud and haughty!
Don’t speak with such arrogance!
For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done;
he will judge your actions.
4The bow of the mighty is now broken,
and those who stumbled are now strong.
5Those who were well fed are now starving,
and those who were starving are now full.
The childless woman now has seven children,
and the woman with many children wastes away.
6The Lord gives both death and life;
he brings some down to the grave*2:6 Hebrew to Sheol. but raises others up.
7The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
he brings some down and lifts others up.
8He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
placing them in seats of honor.
For all the earth is the Lord’s,
and he has set the world in order.
9“He will protect his faithful ones,
but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.
10Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered.
He thunders against them from heaven;
the Lord judges throughout the earth.
He gives power to his king;
he increases the strength*2:10 Hebrew he exalts the horn. of his anointed one.”
11Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.
Eli’s Wicked Sons
12Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord
16The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.”
18But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest.*2:18 Hebrew He wore a linen ephod.
22Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle.*2:22 Hebrew Tent of Meeting. Some manuscripts lack this entire sentence.
26Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people.
A Warning for Eli’s Family
27One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: “I revealed myself*2:27 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads Did I reveal myself. to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt.
30“Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi*2:30 Hebrew that your house and your father’s house. would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.
35“Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever.