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prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
because I rejoice in Your salvation.
2 “There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides You;
there is no rock like our God.
3 “Do not talk so very proudly;
let no arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by Him actions are measured.
4 “The bows of mighty warriors are broken,
but the feeble are girded with strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry hunger no more.
The barren woman gives birth to seven,
but she who has many sons is left feeble.
6 “The Lord brings death and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth;
He brings low and He lifts up.
8 He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts up the needy from the ash heap.
He seats them among princes
and has them inherit a seat of honour.
“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and He has set the world upon them.
9 He will guard the feet of His saints,
but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.
“There is no man who prevails by strength;
10 the adversaries of the Lord are broken in pieces;
out of heaven He thunders against them.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
“He gives strength to His king,
and exalts the horn of His anointed.”
11 Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah, but the boy ministered to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.
12 Now Eli’s sons were worthless scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord. 13 It was the practice of the priests for the people that whenever someone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three pronged fork in his hand, 14 He would plunge it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15 Even before the fat was burnt, the priest’s servant would say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat to the priest for roasting, for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
16 If the man said to him, “Let them not fail to burn the fat first; then take whatever you want,” he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.”
17 So the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men were treating the offering of the Lord with contempt.
18 Samuel ministered before the Lord—a young boy wearing a linen ephod. 19 Year by year his mother would make a little robe for him, and she brought it to him when she would come up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman for the gift which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would return to their home.
21 And the Lord took notice of Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard about everything that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they laid with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 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 spreading among the Lord’s people. 25 If one man sins against another, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lord intended to kill them.
26 Meanwhile the child Samuel continued to grow in stature, and in favour with the Lord and with men.
27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not reveal myself plainly to your father’s house when they were in Egypt as slaves to the household of Pharoah? 28 Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, and wear an ephod in My presence? And did I not give to your father’s house all the offerings made by fire from the Israelites? 29 Why then do you trample on My sacrifice and My offering that I have commanded in My dwelling, and honour your sons more than Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest part of all the offerings of My people Israel?’
30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I indeed said that your house and father’s house would walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord says, ‘Far be it from me! Those who honour Me I will honour, and those who despise Me will be an object of contempt. 31 Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line. 32 You will see distress in My dwelling, in spite of all the benefits that will be bestowed on Israel, yet there will never be an old man in your family. 33 But the only man among you whom I shall not cut off from My altar will be spared only to consume your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all the descendants of your house will die in the prime of their lives.
34 ‘This will be to you a sign that will come on your two sons, Hophni and Phineas: both of them will die on the same day. 35 And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who will do all according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he will go in and out before My anointed one always. 36 Then it will come to pass that everyone who is left in your family will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and say, “Please appoint me to one of the priestly offices, so that I have a morsel of bread to eat”!’ ”