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Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
1 Samuel 2:10 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Those who strive with Yahweh shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in the sky. “Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
  • KJV The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.
  • NKJV The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; From heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.”
  • NASB “Those who contend with the Lord will be terrified; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
  • NLT Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered. He thunders against them from heaven; the Lord judges throughout the earth. He gives power to his king; he increases the strength of his anointed one.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The Lord will shatter His foes and judge the whole earth, giving strength to His king and exalting His anointed. The song ends looking ahead to God's appointed king.

Overview

Hannah's closing words are remarkable, for as yet Israel had no king; this is a prophetic anticipation of God's anointed ruler. The line points toward David and ultimately to the Messiah, the Anointed One whom God exalts. Her song thus frames the whole book's movement toward kingship and looks forward to Christ, God's King who will judge the ends of the earth.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • Ps 2:9You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.”
  • Ps 89:24My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him, and through My name his horn will be exalted.
  • Ps 96:13before the LORD, for He is coming—He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.
  • Exod 15:6Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy.
  • Ps 18:13–14The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire.
  • Ps 21:7–9For the king trusts in the LORD; through the loving devotion of the Most High, he will not be shaken.
  • Ps 98:9before the LORD, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.
  • Ps 20:6Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand.
  • Ps 92:9–10For surely Your enemies, O LORD, surely Your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.
  • 1 Sam 7:10As the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel, Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel.
  • Eccl 11:9Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
  • Matt 25:31–32When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
  • Ps 45:7You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you above your companions with the oil of joy.
  • Matt 28:18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
  • Ps 68:1–2For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song. God arises. His enemies are scattered, and those who hate Him flee His presence.
  • Ps 50:1–6A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from where the sun rises to where it sets.
  • Judg 5:31So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.
  • Ps 2:6“I have installed My King on Zion, upon My holy mountain.”
  • Ps 2:2The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
  • Ps 21:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength. How greatly he exults in Your salvation!
  • Ps 28:8The LORD is the strength of His people, a stronghold of salvation for His anointed.
  • Job 40:9Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His?
  • 2 Cor 5:10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
  • 2 Sam 7:13He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
  • 1 Sam 12:18So Samuel called to the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
  • Acts 10:38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
  • Isa 32:1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.
  • 1 Sam 16:1Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
  • Ps 148:14He has raised up a horn for His people, the praise of all His saints, of Israel, a people near to Him. Hallelujah!
  • 2 Sam 7:8Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel.
  • Ps 89:17For You are the glory of their strength, and by Your favor our horn is exalted.
  • Rev 20:11–15Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
  • Rom 14:10–12Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
  • Luke 1:69He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,
  • 1 Sam 12:3Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”
  • Matt 25:34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
  • 1 Sam 15:28So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.
  • John 5:21–22For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
  • Luke 19:27And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
  • Eccl 12:14For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (9)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Samuel 2:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.

How 1 Samuel 2:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.