Study Desk

Then ^(C1)a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: '^(C2)Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house?

'^(C1)Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me? And did I not ^(C2)give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?

'Why are you ^(F1)(C1)showing contempt for My sacrifice and My offering ^(C2)which I have commanded for My ^(C3)dwelling, and why are you ^(C4)honoring your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ^(F2)choicest of every offering of My people Israel?'

"Therefore the LORD God of Israel declares, '^(C1)I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father was to walk before Me forever'; but now the LORD declares, 'Far be it from Me—for ^(C2)those who honor Me I will honor, and those ^(C3)who despise Me will be insignificant.

'Behold, ^(C1)the days are coming when I will eliminate your ^(F1)strength and the ^(F1)strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.

'And you will look at ^(C1)the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that ^(F1)I do for Israel; and there will never be an ^(C2)old man in your house.

'Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar, ^(F1)so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the ^(F2)increase of your house will die ^(F3)in the prime of life.

'And this will be ^(C1)the sign to you which will come in regard to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: ^(C2)on the same day both of them will die.

'But ^(C1)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and My soul; and ^(C2)I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before ^(C3)My anointed always.

'And everyone who is left in your house will come to bow down to him for a ^(F1)silver coin or a loaf of bread and say, "Please ^(F2)assign me to one of the priest's offices so that I may eat a piece of bread."'"