King James Version · The united kingdom
1 Samuel 2
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And , and said, rejoiceth in , mine is exalted in : my is enlarged over mine ; because I rejoice in thy . There is none as : for there is none beside thee: neither is there any like our . Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your : for is a of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the , and bringeth up. maketh , and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up out of , and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them of : for the pillars of the earth are ’s, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his , and shall be silent ; for by strength shall no man prevail. The of shall be broken to pieces; out of shall he thunder upon them: shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt of his . And went to to his house. And the child did minister unto before the priest. Now the sons of were sons of Belial; they knew not . And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered , the priest’s servant came, while was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in unto all the that came thither. Also before they burnt , the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that , Give to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden of thee, but raw. And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn presently, and then take as much as thy desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. Wherefore the of the young men was very great before : for men abhorred the of . But ministered before , being a child, girded with a linen . Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly . And and his wife, and said, give thee of this woman for the loan which is lent to . And they went unto their own home. And visited , so that she conceived, and three sons and two daughters. And the child grew before . Now was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the of . And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make ’s people to transgress. If one man against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man against , who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their , because would them. And the child grew on, and was in both with , and also with men. And there came a unto , and said unto him, Thus saith , Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy , when they were in in ’s house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine , to , to wear an before me? and did I give unto the house of thy all the made by of the ? Wherefore kick ye at my and at mine , which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the of Israel my people? Wherefore of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy , should walk before me for ever: but now saith, Be it far from me; for them that me I will , and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come, that I will thine arm, and the arm of thy ’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. And the man of thine, whom I shall not mine , shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine : and all the increase of thine house shall in the flower of their age. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and ; in one day they shall both of them. And I will raise me up a priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine and in my : and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine for ever. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.