1 Samuel 2:27-32

The Lord Judges the House of Eli

2:27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not plainly ¹  reveal myself to your ancestor’s ²  house when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh? 2:28 I chose your ancestor ³  from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor’s house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites. 2:29 Why are you ⁴  scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place? ⁵  You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.’

2:30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say ⁶  that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve ⁷  me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be! ⁸  For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed! 2:31 In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength ⁹  and the strength ¹⁰  of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house! 2:32 You will see trouble in my dwelling place! ¹¹  Israel will experience blessings, ¹²  but there will not be an old man in your ¹³  house for all time. ¹⁴ 

[2:27]  ¹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:27]  ² tn Heb “to your father’s” (also in vv. 28, 30).

[2:28]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Eli’s ancestor, i.e., Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:29]  ⁴ tc The MT has a plural “you” here, but the LXX and a Qumran ms have the singular. The singular may be the correct reading; the verb “you have honored” later in the verse is singular even in the MT. However, it is more probable that the Lord here refers to Eli and his sons. Note the plural in the second half of the verse (“you have made yourselves fat”).

[2:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “which I commanded, dwelling place.” The noun is functioning as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb. Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation.

[2:30]  ⁶ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:30]  ⁷ tn Heb “walk about before.”

[2:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “may it be far removed from me.”

[2:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “chop off your arm.” The arm here symbolizes strength and activity.

[2:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “arm.”

[2:32]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you will see [the] trouble of [the] dwelling place.” Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun is supplied in the translation (see v. 29).

[2:32]  ¹² tn Heb “in all which he does good with Israel.”

[2:32]  ¹³ tc The LXX and a Qumran manuscript have the first person pronoun “my” here.

[2:32]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “all the days.”