1 Samuel 2:12

12 Eli's own sons were a bad lot. They didn't know God and could not have cared less

1 Samuel 2:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 2:12

Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial
Not that Eli their father was Belial, a wicked man; but though they had so good a father, they were very wicked men, unprofitable abandoned wretches, that cast off the yoke of the law of God, and gave themselves up to all manner of wickedness:

they knew not the Lord;
not that they had no knowledge of God in theory, or were real atheists, but they were so practically; they denied him in works, they had no love to him, nor fear of him, and departed from his ways and worship, as much as if they were entirely ignorant of him; so the Targum,

``they did not know to fear before the Lord,''

or serve him; or, as Kimchi,

``they did not know the way of the Lord,''

that is, practically.

1 Samuel 2:12 In-Context

10 God's enemies will be blasted out of the sky, crashed in a heap and burned. God will set things right all over the earth, he'll give strength to his king, he'll set his anointed on top of the world!

11 Elkanah went home to Ramah. The boy stayed and served God in the company of Eli the priest. Samuel Serves God

12 Eli's own sons were a bad lot. They didn't know God and could not have cared less

13 about the customs of priests among the people. Ordinarily, when someone offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant was supposed to come up and, while the meat was boiling,

14 stab a three-pronged fork into the cooking pot. The priest then got whatever came up on the fork. But this is how Eli's sons treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices to God.