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1 Samuel 2

KJV · Chapter 2/31

1And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.

2There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

3Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

4The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

5They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

6The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

7The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.

9He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

10The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

11And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.

12Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.

13And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;

14And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.

15Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.

16And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

17Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.

18But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.

19Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord. And they went unto their own home.

21And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

22Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

23And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.

24Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord’s people to transgress.

25If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.

26And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.

27And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?

28And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?

29Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

30Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

31Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.

32And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.

33And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.

34And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

35And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

36And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Hannah sings a song of praise and gratitude. The text contrasts Samuel's growing faithfulness with the corruption of Eli's sons, who abused their priestly office, leading to a prophetic judgment against the house of Eli.

Explanation

Hannah's song is one of the richest poetic texts in the Old Testament, celebrating the reversal God brings about—exalting the humble and bringing down the powerful—a theme that echoes directly in Mary's song (the Magnificat) in Luke 1. In sharp contrast, Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, systematically abused their priestly role, forcibly taking the best portions of the sacrifices and committing sexual immorality with the women who served at the temple. The rebuke given to Eli by an anonymous 'man of God,' warning that his priestly line would be cut off because he failed to restrain his sons, shows that a father's negligence in correcting sin carries lasting spiritual consequences, even for someone in religious leadership.

Fun facts

  • Hannah's song (v.1-10) is regarded by many biblical scholars as the direct literary model for Mary's Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55, with clear thematic and structural parallels.
  • The expression 'sons of Belial,' used to describe Hophni and Phinehas (v.12), later became a general term in biblical and later literature for people of deeply corrupt character.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Samuel 2:1Hannah sings that her “horn is exalted,” using the image of a bull’s horn — a common ancient symbol of strength and victory. The same image of power as a horn returns at the end of the song, when she speaks of the anointed king.
  2. 1 Samuel 2:2“Rock” is a recurring image in Hebrew poetry for God as solid, reliable protection — the same metaphor returns dozens of times in the Psalms.
  3. 1 Samuel 2:3Hannah warns against arrogance: to say that “by him actions are weighed” means He judges fairly what each person does, beneath the proud talk or outward appearances.
  4. 1 Samuel 2:4The broken bow of the mighty and the sudden strength of those who stumbled sum up the theme of Hannah’s song: God reverses positions of power, pulling the strong down from the top and lifting up those who were falling.
  5. 1 Samuel 2:5“They that were full have hired out themselves for bread” and “the barren hath born seven” are images of reversal — hunger and plenty, barrenness and fertility trade places, mirroring Hannah’s own story.
  6. 1 Samuel 2:6To say the Lord “killeth, and maketh alive” and “bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up” is a poetic way of affirming God’s total control over life and death, not a detailed doctrine of resurrection.
  7. 1 Samuel 2:7Another pair of opposites in the song: poverty and wealth, humiliation and exaltation, all presented as the result of God’s will, not chance or personal merit.
  8. 1 Samuel 2:8Raising the poor from the dust to seat them among princes is the central image of the song — the same idea of God reversing the fortunes of the lowly and the powerful reappears almost identically in Mary’s Magnificat, in Luke 1:52.
  9. 1 Samuel 2:9The song ends by insisting that human strength does not decide the final outcome: the faithful are kept safe and the wicked silenced, but by God’s action, not by military power.
  10. 1 Samuel 2:10Hannah speaks of “his king” and “his anointed” long before Israel had any king — a prophetic line that only fully makes sense decades later, with the arrival of Saul and especially David.
  11. 1 Samuel 2:11Elkanah returns home without his son: from here on Samuel grows up serving at the sanctuary in Shiloh, far from his parents, fulfilling the vow Hannah had made.
  12. 1 Samuel 2:12Calling Eli’s sons “sons of Belial” (worthless men) sets up the contrast the chapter draws: while they abuse the priesthood, the boy Samuel grows up faithful right beside them.
  13. 1 Samuel 2:13This verse describes the normal procedure before the abuse began: a servant would go to the people’s pot with a three-pronged fork to collect the priest’s portion — the problem, in the next verse, was taking more than was due.
  14. 1 Samuel 2:14Eli’s sons had a corrupt custom of sending a servant to hook out, with a three-pronged fork, meat still cooking in the people’s pot, keeping whatever came up — on top of the portion the law already guaranteed the priest. This happened even before the fat, which by law belonged only to God and was burned on the altar, was removed; that is why the text calls it a great sin.
  15. 1 Samuel 2:15Demanding the raw meat before the fat (which belonged only to God) was even burned meant skipping the most sacred step of the sacrifice — the priests wanted to pick the best part before the rite was even completed.
  16. 1 Samuel 2:16When someone tried to follow the proper order — burning the fat first — the priest’s servant threatened to take the meat by force, showing that the corruption was already an accepted practice, not an exception.
  17. 1 Samuel 2:17The text sums up the problem: seeing the priests abuse the offerings, ordinary people came to despise the very act of sacrificing to God.
  18. 1 Samuel 2:18Wearing a linen ephod, normally a priestly garment, even though he was still a boy and not a descendant of Aaron’s priestly line, shows how unusual a place of honor Samuel already held in the sanctuary.
  19. 1 Samuel 2:19The robe Hannah brings every year is the only recorded contact between her and her son after she gave him to Eli — a gesture of love from a distance, within the vow she had kept.
  20. 1 Samuel 2:20Eli’s blessing acknowledges that Hannah “lent” her son to God — and asks that she be rewarded with more children for that very act of surrender.
  21. 1 Samuel 2:21Eli’s blessing comes true: Hannah gains five more children after giving up Samuel — a sign, for the narrator, that surrendering her first son in faith did not leave the family “poorer.”
  22. 1 Samuel 2:22The women who served at the “tabernacle of the congregation” held some kind of regular function at the Shiloh sanctuary — the text does not specify which, but it was clearly wrong for the priests to sleep with them. It is one more sign of how badly Eli’s sons abused their office.
  23. 1 Samuel 2:23Eli knew of his sons’ bad reputation from hearing complaints from the people themselves — but, as the rest of the chapter shows, knowing was not the same as acting with firmness.
  24. 1 Samuel 2:24Eli’s concern here is twofold: the family’s own reputation and the effect of his sons’ bad example, which led the common people to sin along with them.
  25. 1 Samuel 2:25The text explains why Eli’s rebuke did no good: God had already decided to judge his sons, a pattern similar to the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus — their refusal confirms the judgment rather than causing it.
  26. 1 Samuel 2:26The description of Samuel growing in favor “with the Lord, and also with men” is nearly identical to what the Gospel of Luke later uses to describe the childhood of Jesus (Luke 2:52).
  27. 1 Samuel 2:27The “man of God” who appears here is an anonymous prophet, a common device in the Bible for messengers who deliver an important oracle without needing a name. He recalls that Eli’s family descends from Aaron, chosen back in Egypt.
  28. 1 Samuel 2:28The oracle recaps the privileges given to Aaron’s priestly line — the point of comparison that shows the scale of the abuse Hophni and Phinehas committed with those same privileges.
  29. 1 Samuel 2:29To “kick” against the sacrifice is an image of active rebellion — the central charge is that Eli valued his own sons more, letting them fatten themselves on the offerings, than the honor owed to God.
  30. 1 Samuel 2:30The ancient promise of a perpetual priesthood for Eli’s house is revoked here — the text makes clear that God’s promises are not unconditional when the human response is continued dishonor.
  31. 1 Samuel 2:31To “cut off thine arm” is an image of the loss of strength and power — the punishment announced is the end of the longevity and influence of Eli’s line in the priesthood.
  32. 1 Samuel 2:32One of the most obscure verses of the oracle: the general idea is that Eli’s house will witness hardship right in the sanctuary itself, instead of the prosperity it could have had.
  33. 1 Samuel 2:33Even the descendants who remain in the priesthood will suffer — “to consume thine eyes” and “to grieve thine heart” describe a life marked by loss, and most of them will die young.
  34. 1 Samuel 2:34God gives a verifiable, short-term sign — the death of the two sons on the same day, fulfilled soon in chapter 4 — to confirm that the more distant prophecy will also come to pass.
  35. 1 Samuel 2:35The prophecy about a “faithful priest” points to Zadok, who would later replace Eli’s line (through Abiathar) in Solomon’s time — closing out, there, the fall announced in this scene.
  36. 1 Samuel 2:36The final image is one of total humiliation: descendants of Eli begging for a minor priestly post just to get food — the complete opposite of the prestige the family once had.

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