9. He safeguards the steps of his faithful ones,but wicked people are silenced in darknessbecause humans cannot succeed by their own strength.
10. “Those who oppose the Lord are broken into pieces.He thunders at them from the heavens.The Lord judges the ends of the earth.He gives strength to his Kingand lifts the head of his Messiah.”
11. Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy ⌊Samuel⌋ served the Lord under the priest Eli.
12. Eli’s sons, ⌊Hophni and Phinehas,⌋ were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the Lord.
13. Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand.
14. Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up ⌊from the pot⌋ belonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there ⌊to sacrifice⌋.
15. But ⌊in the case of Eli’s sons,⌋ even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw.”
16. If the man said to the servant, “First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want,” the servant would say to him, “Give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.”
17. The sin of Eli’s sons was a serious matter to the Lord, because these men were treating the offerings made to the Lord with contempt.
18. Meanwhile, Samuel continued to serve in front of the Lord. As a boy he was ⌊already⌋ wearing a linen ephod.
19. His mother would make him a robe and bring it to him every year when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.
20. Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.
21. The Lord came to Hannah. She became pregnant ⌊five times⌋ and had three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in front of the Lord.
22. Now, Eli was very old, and he had heard everything that his sons were doing to all Israel and that they were sleeping with the women who served at the gate of the tent of meeting.
23. So he asked them, “Why are you doing such things? I hear about your wicked ways from all these people.
24. Sons, the report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading isn’t good!
25. If one person sins against another, God will take care of him. However, when a person sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?” But they wouldn’t listen to their father’s warning—the Lord wanted to kill them.
26. The boy Samuel continued to grow and gained the favor of the Lord and the people.