Thematic Bible: Eli's house


Thematic Bible



Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him: "Thus says Yahweh: 'Did I not clearly reveal myself to the house of your ancestor when they were in Egypt under the house of Pharaoh? And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be a priest to me, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to bear an ephod before me. I gave to the house of your ancestor all the offerings made by fire by the {Israelites}. Why do you despise my sacrifice and my offering which I commanded [for my] dwelling place, while you honored your sons more than me by making yourselves fat from the best of all the offerings of my people Israel? read more.
Therefore,' {declares} Yahweh the God of Israel, 'though I solemnly said that your house and the house of your ancestor would walk before me forever, but now,' {declares} Yahweh, 'far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me, I will treat with contempt! Look, days [are] coming when I will cut off your {strength} and the {strength} of the house of your ancestor {so that no one in your house will live to old age}. You will look at the distress of my dwelling place, [despite] all the good caused for Israel, but there will never be an old [man] in your household {forever}! The only one I will not cut off from my altar [is you]. [Rather], to cause your eyes to fail and to cause your soul to grieve, {all the members of your household} will die [as] men. This [is] the sign for you that will come regarding your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: they will both die on the same day! But I will raise up for myself a reliable priest; he will do just according to what [is] in my heart and in my soul. I will build for him a lasting house and he will walk continually before my anointed one {forever}. All the remainder of your household will come to bow down {before} him for a bit of silver or a loaf of bread and will say, "Please assign me to one of the {priestly offices} so that I can eat a morsel of bread." '"

So [the] Philistines fought and Israel was defeated and each man fled to his tent, for the slaughter was very great. Thirty thousand foot soldiers from Israel fell. Furthermore, the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came [to] Shiloh that same day, and his clothes [were] torn and earth [was] on his head. read more.
When he came, {there was} Eli sitting on his chair {by the side of the road} watching, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. Now the man had come {to give his report} in the city, and all the city cried out. When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, "What [is] the noise of this commotion?" Then the man {came quickly} and told Eli. Now Eli [was] {ninety-eight years old} and his eyes {stayed fixed ahead} and he was not able to see. And the man said to Eli, "I am the [one] who has come from the battle line! I have fled today from the battle line!" And he said, "{What exactly happened}, my son?" Then the messenger answered and said, "Israel has fled before [the] Philistines. There has been a great defeat among the troops. Also, your two sons have died, Hophni and Phinehas, and the ark of God has been captured." Just as he mentioned the ark of God, he fell from his chair backwards against the side of the gate. He broke his neck and died, because the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years. Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, [was] pregnant and [about] to give birth. When she heard the news concerning the capture of the ark of God and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she {went into labor} and gave birth, because her labor pains came upon her. Just before the time of her death, those {attending her} said, "Do not fear, for you have given birth to a son." But she did not answer, or {pay any attention}. She called the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel," referring to the capture of the ark of God and concerning her father-in-law and husband. And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God was captured."


Therefore I swore to the house of Eli [that] the iniquity of the house of Eli would not be atoned for by sacrifice or by offering forever."


Therefore I swore to the house of Eli [that] the iniquity of the house of Eli would not be atoned for by sacrifice or by offering forever."