6. “The Lord puts to death and gives life,casts down to Sheol and brings up again.
7. The Lord makes poor and makes rich,humbles, and also exalts.
8. He raises the needy from the dust;from the ash heap lifts up the poor,To seat them with noblesand make a glorious throne their heritage.“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,and he has set the world upon them.
9. He guards the footsteps of his faithful ones,but the wicked shall perish in the darkness;for not by strength does one prevail.
10. The Lord’s foes shall be shattered;the Most High in heaven thunders;the Lord judges the ends of the earth.May he give strength to his king,and exalt the horn of his anointed!”
11. When Elkanah returned home to Ramah, the child remained in the service of the Lord under the priest Eli.
12. Now the sons of Eli were wicked; they had respect neither for the Lord
13. nor for the priests’ duties toward the people. When someone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork, while the meat was still boiling,
14. and would thrust it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or pot. Whatever the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. They treated all the Israelites who came to the sanctuary at Shiloh in this way.
15. In fact, even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the one offering the sacrifice, “Give me some meat to roast for the priest. He will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw meat.”
16. And if this one protested, “Let the fat be burned first, then take whatever you wish,” he would reply, “No, give it to me now, or else I will take it by force.”
17. Thus the young men sinned grievously in the presence of the Lord, treating the offerings to the Lord with disdain.
18. Meanwhile the boy Samuel, wearing a linen ephod, was serving in the presence of the Lord.
19. His mother used to make a little garment for him, which she would bring him each time she went up with her husband to offer the customary sacrifice.
20. And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, as they were leaving for home. He would say, “May the Lord repay you with children from this woman for the gift she has made to the Lord!”