1 Samuel

Song of Hannah

And this is the song of Hannah:

“My heart exults in the Lord,

I feel strong in my God.

I rejoice and laugh at my enemies,

for you came with power to save me.

The Lord alone is holy;

no one is like you;

there is no Rock like our God.

Speak proudly no more;

no more arrogance on your lips,

for the Lord is an all-knowing God;

it is he who weighs the deeds of all.

The bow of the mighty is broken,

but the weak are girded with strength.

The well-fed must labor for bread,

but the hungry need work no more.

The childless wife has borne seven children,

but the proud mother is left alone.

The Lord is Lord of life and death.

He brings down to the grave and raises up.

The Lord makes poor and rich;

he brings low and exalts.

He lifts up the lowly from the dust  and raises the poor from the ash heap;

they will be called to the company of princes,

and inherit a seat of honor.

The earth to its pillars belong to the Lord;

he has set the world on them.

He guards the steps of his faithful ones,

but the wicked perish in darkness;

for no one succeeds by their own strength.

The enemies of the Lord are shattered,

against them he thunders in heaven.

The Lord rules over the whole world.

He will raise his own king.

His anointed feels strong in Him.”

Birth of Samuel

After that, Elkanah went home to Ramah while the boy served the Lord in the presence of Eli, the priest.

The sons of Eli were worthless men who had no regard for the Lord.

This is how they acted with the people: When someone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was still boiling.

With a fork, he would reach into the pan, kettle, caldron, or pot, and all that the fork brought up would be for the priests. This is how these priests treated the Israelites who went to Shiloh.

Sometimes, the priest’s servant would come before the fat was burned and say to the man who was sacrificing: “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw.”

And if the man answered: “Let the fat be burned first, and then take as much as you wish.” He would say: “No, give it to me now, or else I will take it by force.”

The sin of these young priests was very great in the sight of the Lord because they defiled the offering of the Lord.

Meanwhile, Samuel, now a boy wearing a priest’s garment, was ministering before the Lord.

From time to time, his mother made him a little robe, which she handed him when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife with these words: “May the Lord give you more children by this woman for the sake of the boy she asked for and then gave to the Lord.”

After the man returned home, the Lord blessed Hannah with more children. She had three sons and two daughters, while the boy Samuel grew in the Lord’s presence.

Eli was now very old. He heard how his sons dealt with the Israelites and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

So he told them: “How can you do the things I hear about you from everyone?

No, my sons, what I hear from the pilgrims of the Lord’s people is bad news for me.

When anyone sins against another person, God will mediate for him. But who can intercede for him if he sins against the Lord?” Yet the two would not listen to their father, for the Lord had already decided that they should die.

Meanwhile, the boy Samuel was growing in stature and worth before the Lord and the people.

One day, a man of God came to Eli and said to him: “This is the Lord’s word: I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt.

I chose them out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priests, to go up to my altar, to burn incense and to wear a priest’s robe in my presence, and I gave them all the burnt offerings of Israel. ?

Why do you now despise my sacrifice and the offerings that I myself ordered? Why do you give more importance to your sons than to me and fatten yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering made by my people Israel?

Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: I promised that your family and that of your father should go on ministering before me forever; but now, far be it from me! Those who honor me, I shall honor; those who despise me will be despised.

The days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of all your relatives.

No one will live to a ripe old age.

Those of your household that I do not reject from my service will be spared only to weep bitterly and live in grief, but the rest shall die by the sword.

What will happen to your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be a sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day.

I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall act according to my heart and mind. I will give him a lasting succession that will serve me and my anointed one forever.

And everyone that is left of your family shall ask him for money or a loaf of bread, saying: Appoint me, I beg you, for a priestly function so that I may have something to eat.”