Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord

For they are named after the Holy City, and lean on the God of Israel; His name is Yahweh of Hosts.

Do not trust deceitful words, chanting: This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.

He took up the case of the poor and needy, then it went well. Is this not what it means to know Me? [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration.

They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified for any good work.

or for the priests' share [of the sacrifices] from the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling and plunge it into the container or kettle or caldron or cooking pot. The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh. read more. Even before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest [some] meat to roast, because he won't accept boiled meat from you-only raw." If that man said to him, "The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself," the servant would reply, "No, I insist that you hand it over right now. If you don't, I'll take it by force!" So the servants' sin was very severe in the presence of the Lord, because they treated the Lord's offering with contempt.

Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

A man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: 'Didn't I reveal Myself to your ancestral house when it was in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh's palace?

They trample the heads of the poor on the dust of the ground and block the path of the needy. A man and his father have sexual relations with the same girl, profaning My holy name. They stretch out beside every altar on garments taken as collateral, and they drink in the house of their God wine obtained through fines.