1Da lovpriste Hanna Herren med følgende ord: Jeg fryder mig over dig, Herre. Du har gjort mig glad. Nu kan jeg le ad mine fjender og glæde mig over, at du har reddet mig.2Ingen er hellig, som du er. Du hjælper og beskytter os. Din lige findes ikke.3Intet menneske må være hovmodigt eller bruge pralende ord, for Herren er den alvidende Gud, han dømmer vores handlinger.4Den overlegne lider nederlag, men den segnefærdige finder styrke.5Den rige må arbejde for føden, mens den sultende spiser sig mæt. Den barnløse kvinde føder syv børn, mens den børnerige sidder og sygner hen.6Herren bringer død, og Herren giver liv. Nogle lægges i graven, andre oprejses fra den.7Herren gør nogle fattige og andre rige, han ydmyger nogle og ophøjer andre.8Han løfter de hjælpeløse op fra støvet, han giver de fortvivlede nyt mod. Han ærer dem som kongebørn, bænker dem på hæderspladsen. Jordens grundvold har Herren skabt, på den byggede han hele verden.9Herren beskytter sine trofaste tjenere, men de onde omkommer i mørket. Ingen kan klare sig i egen kraft.10De, som kæmper mod Herren, kvæstes. Han tordner imod dem fra Himlen. Herren dømmer alle på jorden. Han giver sin konge styrke og stor magt til sin salvede.[1]11Derefter rejste Elkana og Hanna hjem til Rama. Men drengen blev i Shilo, hvor han tjente Herren under Elis opsyn.
Elis sønner
12Selv om Elis sønner var præster, var de ugudelige og uden ærefrygt for Herren.13Nu var det sådan, at præsterne havde ret til at få en vis del af, hvad der blev ofret. Så hver gang nogen bragte et slagtoffer, kom præsternes tjener, mens den del af offerkødet, som skulle spises, stod og kogte, og stak en tregrenet gaffel14ned i gryden. Det kød, som sad på gaflen, når den blev trukket op, var præsternes del. Den fremgangsmåde brugte de over for alle, der kom til Shilo for at ofre.15Men nu var det blevet sådan, at inden fedtet var brændt af den del af offerkødet, som tilhørte Herren, kom tjeneren og sagde til den, som ofrede: „Giv præsterne noget kød, de kan stege. De vil ikke have kogt kød, kun råt.”16Hvis manden svarede: „Tag så meget, du vil, men lad mig først brænde fedtet af,” sagde tjeneren: „Nej, giv mig kødet nu, ellers tager jeg det med magt.”17Elis sønners synd var stor i Herrens øjne, for de viste ringeagt for Herrens offergaver.18Samuel derimod tjente Herren, selvom han endnu kun var et barn. Han havde en efod af linned på magen til præsternes.19Hvert år lavede hans mor en kappe til ham. Den havde hun så med, når hun kom til Shilo for at ofre sammen med sin mand.20Før Elkana og Hanna rejste hjem fra Shilo, velsignede Eli dem med ordene: „Må Gud give jer andre børn i stedet for Samuel, som er givet til Herren.”21Og Gud velsignede Hanna, så hun blev gravid igen. Hun fødte i alt tre sønner og to døtre foruden Samuel, som voksede op hos Herren.22Eli var efterhånden en gammel mand, men han vidste godt, hvad hans sønner foretog sig. Han hørte om, hvordan de behandlede folk, og at de gik i seng med de kvinder, som hjalp til ved indgangen til helligdommen.23Derfor sagde han til dem: „Jeg har hørt om de skammelige ting, I gør.24I bliver nødt til at holde op med det. I har fået et dårligt ry blandt Herrens folk.25Når en mand gør noget forkert over for en anden person, kan Gud forsvare den ene eller den anden. Men når nogen gør oprør imod Gud selv, hvem kan så forsvare ham?” Men Elis sønner lyttede ikke til deres fars advarsel, for Herren havde allerede besluttet, at de skulle dø.26I mellemtiden voksede Samuel op og var afholdt både af mennesker og Gud.
Dommen over Elis familie
27En dag kom en af Guds profeter til Eli og gav ham følgende budskab fra Herren: „Åbenbarede jeg mig ikke tydeligt, allerede dengang dine forfædre var Faraos slaver i Egypten?28Af alle Israels stammer udvalgte jeg din slægt til at være mine præster, til at bringe ofre på mit alter, til at brænde røgelse og til at bære præstedragt og tjene mig. Og jeg gav jer ret til en vis del af offerkødet.29Hvorfor er I da så grådige, at I forgriber jer på de øvrige ofre, som jeg har forordnet for min helligdom? Hvorfor tager du mere hensyn til dine sønner end til mig? I er jo blevet fede ved at tage den bedste del af mit folks offergaver til jer selv.30Derfor siger Herren, Israels Gud: Jeg lovede engang, at dine efterkommere skulle være præster for mig altid, men sådan bliver det ikke nu. For jeg ærer den, som ærer mig; og jeg foragter den, som foragter mig.31Derfor vil jeg straffe din familie og slægt, så at ingen mand i din familie bliver gammel.32Med misundelse vil du se på, hvordan mit folk får fremgang, mens din egen slægt skrumper ind. Ingen fra din slægt bliver gamle.33De, som ikke bliver dræbt, vil leve i sorg og skændsel, og deres børn vil blive dræbt i krig.34Som et tegn på, at det vil ske, som jeg har sagt, skal dine to sønner Hofni og Pinehas dø på samme dag.35I stedet vil jeg lade en trofast præst fremstå, en, som vil tjene mig og gøre, som jeg siger. Jeg vil velsigne hans slægt, og de skal altid tjene som præster for min udvalgte konge.36Dine efterkommere skal bøje sig for ham og tigge ham om penge og mad. ‚Vær barmhjertig,’ vil de sige, ‚og giv os arbejde som præster, så vi kan få noget at spise.’ ”
1And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. (1.Sam 2,10; Salm 9,14; Salm 13,5; Salm 20,5; Salm 35,9; Salm 75,10; Salm 89,17; Salm 89,24; Salm 92,10; Salm 112,9; Salm 148,14; Luk 1,46)2“There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. (2.Mos 15,11; 5.Mos 32,30; Salm 86,8; Salm 89,6; Salm 89,8)3Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.4The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. (Salm 37,15; Salm 46,9; Salm 76,3)5Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. (Salm 113,9; Es 54,1; Jer 15,9)6The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. (5.Mos 32,39)7The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. (Job 1,21; Job 5,11; Salm 75,7)8He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them he has set the world. (Job 36,7; Job 38,4; Salm 24,2; Salm 102,25; Salm 104,5; Salm 113,7; Dan 4,17; Luk 1,52)9“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. (Salm 91,11; Salm 121,3; Ord 3,26)10The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” (1.Sam 2,1; 1.Sam 7,10; 2.Sam 22,14; Salm 2,9; Salm 18,13; Salm 89,24; Salm 96,10; Salm 96,13; Salm 98,9)11Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy[1] was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest. (1.Sam 1,19; 1.Sam 2,18; 1.Sam 3,1)
Eli’s Worthless Sons
12Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. (Dom 2,10; 1.Sam 1,16)13The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand,14and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.15Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” (3.Mos 3,5; 3.Mos 3,16; 3.Mos 7,23; 3.Mos 7,25; 3.Mos 7,31)16And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.”17Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt. (1.Mos 6,11; Mal 2,8)18Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. (2.Mos 28,4; 1.Sam 2,11; 1.Sam 3,1; 2.Sam 6,14; 1.Krøn 15,27)19And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. (1.Sam 1,3)20Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home. (1.Sam 1,28)21Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord. (1.Mos 21,1; Dom 13,24; 1.Sam 2,26; 1.Sam 3,19; Luk 1,80; Luk 2,40)
Eli Rebukes His Sons
22Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. (2.Mos 38,8)23And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people.24No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad.25If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death. (Josva 11,20)26Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man. (Luk 2,52)
The Lord Rejects Eli’s Household
27And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? (1.Kong 13,1)28Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. (2.Mos 28,1; 3.Mos 2,3; 3.Mos 2,10; 3.Mos 6,16; 3.Mos 7,7; 3.Mos 7,34; 3.Mos 10,14; 4.Mos 5,9; 4.Mos 18,1; 4.Mos 18,7; 4.Mos 18,8; 1.Sam 14,3; 1.Sam 22,18)29Why then do you scorn[2] my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ (5.Mos 32,15)30Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. (2.Mos 27,21; 2.Mos 29,9; Jer 18,9)31Behold, 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 house. (1.Sam 4,11; 1.Sam 4,18; 1.Sam 4,20; 1.Sam 22,18; 1.Kong 2,27)32Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. (Dom 18,30; 1.Sam 4,11; Salm 78,59; Zak 8,4)33The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his[3] eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants[4] of your house shall die by the sword of men.[5]34And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. (1.Sam 4,11; 1.Kong 13,3)35And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. (1.Sam 25,28; 2.Sam 7,11; 2.Sam 7,27; 2.Sam 22,51; 1.Kong 2,35; 1.Kong 11,38; 1.Krøn 29,22; Salm 18,50; Salm 89,20)36And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests’ places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”