1 Samuel 2:12-17

Eli’s Sons Misuse Their Sacred Office

2:12 The sons of Eli were wicked men. ¹  They did not recognize the Lord’s authority. ²  2:13 Now the priests would always treat the people in the following way: ³  Whenever anyone was making a sacrifice, while the meat was boiling, the priest’s attendant would come with a three-pronged fork ⁴  in his hand. 2:14 He would jab it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or pot, and everything that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they used to do to all the Israelites ⁵  when they came there to Shiloh.

2:15 Even before they burned the fat, the priest’s attendant would come and say to the person who was making the sacrifice, “Hand over some meat for the priest to roast! He won’t take boiled meat from you, but only raw.” ⁶  2:16 If the individual said to him, “First let the fat be burned away, and then take for yourself whatever you wish,” he would say, “No! ⁷  Hand it over right now! If you don’t, I will take it forcibly!”

2:17 The sin of these young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they ⁸  treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.

1 Samuel 2:22

2:22 Now Eli was very old when he heard about everything that his sons used to do to all the people of Israel ⁹  and how they used to have sex with ¹⁰  the women who were stationed at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Psalms 50:16-17

50:16 God says this to the evildoer: ¹¹ 

“How can you declare my commands,

and talk about my covenant? ¹² 

50:17 For you hate instruction

and reject my words. ¹³ 

Malachi 1:9

1:9 But now plead for God’s favor ¹⁴  that he might be gracious to us. ¹⁵  “With this kind of offering in your hands, how can he be pleased with you?” asks the Lord who rules over all.

Acts 19:15-16

19:15 But the evil spirit replied to them, ¹⁶  “I know about Jesus ¹⁷  and I am acquainted with ¹⁸  Paul, but who are you?” ¹⁹  19:16 Then the man who was possessed by ²⁰  the evil spirit jumped on ²¹  them and beat them all into submission. ²²  He prevailed ²³  against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded.

[2:12]  ¹ tn Heb “sons of worthlessness.”

[2:12]  ² tn Heb “they did not know the Lord.” The verb here has the semantic nuance “recognize the authority of.” Eli’s sons obviously knew who the Lord was; they served in his sanctuary. But they did not recognize his moral authority.

[2:13]  ³ tn Heb “the habit of the priests with the people [was this].”

[2:13]  ⁴ sn The Hebrew word occurs only twice in the OT, here and again in v. 14. Its exact meaning is not entirely clear, although from the context it appears to be a sacrificial tool used for retrieving things from boiling water.

[2:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[2:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “living.”

[2:16]  ⁷ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss (“no”) rather than the Kethib and MT, which read “to him.”

[2:17]  ⁸ tc Heb “the men,” which is absent from one medieval Hebrew ms, a Qumran ms, and the LXX.

[2:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[2:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lie with.”

[50:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the Lord’s commandments. In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander, and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[50:16]  ¹² tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The Lord is shocked that such evildoers would give lip-service to his covenantal demands, for their lifestyle is completely opposed to his standards (see vv. 18-20).

[50:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “and throw my words behind you.”

[1:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “seek the face of God.”

[1:9]  ¹⁵ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav conjunction indicates purpose (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[19:15]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to them.” The expression, redundant in English, has been simplified to “replied.”

[19:15]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Jesus I know about.” Here ᾿Ιησοῦν (Ihsoun) is in emphatic position in Greek, but placing the object first is not normal in contemporary English style.

[19:15]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 380 s.v. ἐπίσταμαι 2 has “know, be acquainted with τινά…τὸν Παῦλον Ac 19:15.” Here the translation “be acquainted with” was used to differentiate from the previous phrase which has γινώσκω (ginwskw).

[19:15]  ¹⁹ sn But who are you? This account shows how the power of Paul was so distinct that parallel claims to access that power were denied. In fact, such manipulation, by those who did not know Jesus, was judged (v. 16). The indirect way in which the exorcists made the appeal shows their distance from Jesus.

[19:16]  ²⁰ tn Grk “in whom the evil spirit was.”

[19:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “the man in whom the evil spirit was, jumping on them.” The participle ἐφαλόμενος (efalomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. L&N 15.239 has “ἐφαλόμενος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς ‘the man jumped on them’ Ac 19:16.”

[19:16]  ²² tn Grk “and beating them all into submission.” The participle κατακυριεύσας (katakurieusa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. According to W. Foerster, TDNT 3:1098, the word means “the exercise of dominion against someone, i.e., to one’s own advantage.” These exorcists were shown to be powerless in comparison to Jesus who was working through Paul.

[19:16]  ²³ tn BDAG 484 s.v. ἰσχύω 3 has “win out, prevail…κατά τινος over, against someone Ac 19:16.”