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Prophecy against Eli’s Household
22 Now Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.(A) 23 He said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24 No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad.(B) 25 If one person sins against another, someone can intercede for the sinner with the Lord,[a] but if someone sins against the Lord, who can make intercession?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to kill them.(C)
26 Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with the people.(D)
27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus the Lord has said: I revealed[b] myself to the family of your ancestor in Egypt when they were slaves[c] to the house of Pharaoh.(E) 28 I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to offer incense, to wear an ephod before me, and I gave to the family of your ancestor all my offerings by fire[d] from the Israelites.(F) 29 Why then look[e] with greedy eye at my sacrifices and my offerings[f] and honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?(G) 30 Therefore the Lord the God of Israel declares: I promised that your family and the family of your ancestor should go in and out before me forever, but now the Lord declares: Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be treated with contempt.(H) 31 See, a time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestor’s family.[g](I) 32 No one in your family shall ever live to old age.(J) 33 The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep out his[h] eyes and grieve his[i] heart; all the members of your household shall die by the sword.[j] 34 The fate of your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day.(K) 35 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed one forever.(L) 36 Everyone who is left in your family shall come and prostrate himself before him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, ‘Please put me in one of the priest’s places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.’ ”(M)
Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity
3 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.(N)
2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room;(O) 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.(P) 4 Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!”[k] and he said, “Here I am!”(Q) 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.(R) 8 The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.(S) 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.(T) 13 For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God,[l] and he did not restrain them.(U) 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”(V)
15 Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” 17 Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.”(W) 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.”(X)
19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.(Y) 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.(Z) 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.(AA) 4 1
The Ark of God Captured
In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel,[m] and Israel went out to battle against them;[n] they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.(AB) 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was joined,[o] Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 When the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”(AC) 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.(AD)
5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.(AE) 6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp,(AF) 7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “Gods have[p] come into the camp.” They also said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9 Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, in order not to become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”(AG)
10 So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and they fled, everyone to his home. There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.(AH) 11 The ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.(AI)
Death of Eli
12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with earth upon his head.(AJ) 13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out.(AK) 14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man came quickly and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.(AL) 16 The man said to Eli, “I have just come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” He said, “How did it go, my son?”(AM) 17 The messenger replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter[q] among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli[r] fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.(AN)
19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her labor pains overwhelmed her. 20 As she was about to die, the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or give heed.(AO) 21 She named the child Ichabod, meaning, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”(AP)
24 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.(A)
25 “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.(B) 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, 27 and he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man.(C) 28 Do not be astonished at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and will come out: those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation.(D)
Witnesses to Jesus
30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.(E)
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.(F) 32 There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true.(G) 33 You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth.(H) 34 Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.(I) 36 But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.(J) 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form,(K) 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.(L)
39 “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that testify on my behalf.(M) 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41 I do not accept glory from humans. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God in[a] you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God?[b](N) 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope.(O) 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.(P) 47 But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”
Psalm 106
A Confession of Israel’s Sins
1 Praise the Lord!
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(A)
2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord
or declare all his praise?(B)
3 Happy are those who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times.(C)
4 Remember us,[a] O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
help us[b] when you deliver them,(D)
5 that we may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that we may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that we may glory in your heritage.(E)
6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.(F)
7 Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love
but rebelled against the Most High[c] at the Red Sea.[d](G)
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
so that he might make known his mighty power.(H)
9 He rebuked the Red Sea,[e] and it became dry;
he led them through the deep as through a desert.(I)
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe
and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.(J)
11 The waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.(K)
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.(L)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.