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.
27. Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were under Pharaoh’s control in Egypt.
28. I chose ⌊one of your ancestors⌋ out of all the tribes of Israel to serve as my priest, to sacrifice burnt offerings on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod in my presence. And I gave your ancestors the right to keep portions of the sacrifices that the people of Israel burned on the altar.
29. Why do you show no respect for my sacrifices and grain offerings that I have commanded people to make in my dwelling place? Why do you honor your sons more than me by making yourselves fat on the best of all the sacrifices offered by my people Israel?
30. “Therefore, the Lord God of Israel declares: I certainly thought that your family and your father’s family would always live in my presence.“But now the Lord declares: I promise that I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me will be considered insignificant.
31. The time is coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that no one will grow old in your family.