1 Samuel 2:23-26

2:23 He said to them, “Why do you behave in this way? For I hear about these evil things from all these ¹  people. 2:24 This ought not to be, ²  my sons! For the report that I hear circulating among the Lord’s people is not good. 2:25 If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf. But if a man sins against the Lord, who then will intercede for him?” But Eli’s sons ³  would not listen to their father, for the Lord had decided ⁴  to kill them.

2:26 Now the boy Samuel was growing up and finding favor both with the Lord and with people.

¹ tc For “these” the LXX has “of the Lord” (κυρίου, kuriou), perhaps through the influence of the final phrase of v. 24 (“the people of the Lord”). Somewhat less likely is the view that the MT reading is due to a distorted dittography of the first word of v. 24. The Vulgate lacks the word.

² tn Heb “no.”

³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Eli’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “desired.”