1 Samuel 2:12-21

Eli's Worthless Sons

12 Now the sons of Eli were 1worthless men. 2They did not know the LORD.
13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant[a] would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand,
14 and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.
15 Moreover, 3before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw."
16 And if the man said to him, "Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish," he would say, "No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force."
17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great 4in the sight of the LORD, 5for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.
18 6Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy 7clothed with a linen ephod.
19 And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year 8when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
20 Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, "May the LORD give you children by this woman 9for the petition she asked of the LORD." So then they would return to their home.
21 10Indeed the LORD visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. 11And the young man Samuel grew in the presence of the LORD.

1 Samuel 2:12-21 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.

Cross References 11

  • 1. See 1 Samuel 1:16
  • 2. Judges 2:10
  • 3. Leviticus 3:5, 16; Leviticus 7:23, 25, 31
  • 4. [Genesis 6:11]
  • 5. [Malachi 2:8]
  • 6. ver. 11; 1 Samuel 3:1
  • 7. Exodus 28:4; 2 Samuel 6:14; 1 Chronicles 15:27
  • 8. 1 Samuel 1:3
  • 9. 1 Samuel 1:28
  • 10. Genesis 21:1
  • 11. ver. 26; 1 Samuel 3:19; [Judges 13:24; Luke 1:80; Luke 2:40]

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Hebrew young man; also verse 15
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.