1 Samuel 2:8-18

8 "¹He raises the poor from the dust, ²He lifts the needy from the ash heap ³To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; ⁴For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He set the world on them.

9 "⁵He keeps the feet of His godly ones, ⁶But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; ⁷For not by might shall a man prevail.

10 "⁸Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; ⁹Against them He will thunder in the heavens, ¹⁰The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; ¹¹And He will give strength to His king, ¹²And will exalt the horn of His anointed."

11 Then Elkanah went to his home at ¹³Ramah. ¹⁴But the boy ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli's Sons

12 Now the sons of Eli were ¹⁵worthless men; they did not know the LORD

13 ¹⁶and the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged * fork in his hand.

14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

15 Also, before ¹⁷they burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only * raw."

16 If the man said to him, "They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire," then he would say, "No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force."

17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men ¹⁸despised the offering of the LORD.

Samuel before the LORD as a Boy

18 Now ¹⁹Samuel was ministering before the LORD, as a boy ²⁰wearing a linen ephod.

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1 Samuel 2:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 2

In this chapter the song of Hannah is recorded, 1Sa 2:1-10, and an account is given of the return of Elkanah and Hannah to their own home, and of the care she took yearly to provide a coat for Samuel, and of her being blessed with many other children, and of the growth and ministry of Samuel before the Lord, 1Sa 2:11,18-21,26, and of the wickedness of the sons of Eli, 1Sa 2:12-17, and of Eli's too gentle treatment of them when he reproved them for it, 1Sa 2:22-25 and of a sharp message sent him from the Lord on that account, threatening destruction to his house, of which the death of his two sons would be a sign, 1Sa 2:27-36.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 20

1. Job 42:10-12; Psalms 75:7; Psalms 113:7
2. 2 Samuel 7:8; Daniel 2:48; James 2:5
3. Job 36:7; Psalms 113:8
4. Job 38:4-6; Psalms 75:3; Psalms 104:5
5. Psalms 91:11, 12; Psalms 121:3; Proverbs 3:26; 1 Peter 1:5
6. Matthew 8:12
7. Psalms 33:16, 17
8. Exodus 15:6; Psalms 2:9
9. 1 Samuel 7:10; 2 Samuel 22:14; Psalms 18:13, 14
10. Psalms 96:13; Psalms 98:9; Matthew 25:31, 32
11. Psalms 21:1, 7
12. Psalms 89:24
13. 1 Samuel 1:1, 19
14. 1 Samuel 1:28; 1 Samuel 2:18; 1 Samuel 3:1
15. Jeremiah 2:8; Jeremiah 9:3, 6; 2 Corinthians 6:15
16. Leviticus 7:29-34
17. Lev 3:3-5, 16
18. Malachi 2:7-9
19. 1 Samuel 2:11; 1 Samuel 3:1
20. 1 Samuel 2:28; 1 Samuel 22:18; 2 Samuel 6:14; 1 Chronicles 15:27

Footnotes 6

[a]. I.e. strength
[b]. Lit "sons of Belial"
[c]. Lit "offer up in smoke"
[d]. Lit "like the day"
[e]. Lit "your soul"
[f]. Lit "girded with"