Thus the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.
Parallel translations
- WEB The sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh; for the men despised the offering of Yahweh.
- KJV Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.
- NKJV Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.
- NASB And so the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.
- NLT So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt.
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 young men's sin was very great before the Lord, for they treated His offering with contempt. Their abuse provoked God's judgment.
Overview
The narrator's verdict is blunt: their sin was 'very great' in God's sight because they 'despised the offering of Yahweh.' To scorn the sacrifices was to scorn the God who gave them, and to turn people away from worship. This grave indictment prepares for the coming prophecy of judgment on Eli's house.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Mal 2:7–9For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.
- Gen 6:11Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence.
- Mal 2:13And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.
- Gen 13:13But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
- Ps 51:4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.
- Gen 10:9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
- 2 Kgs 21:6He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- Isa 3:8For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because they spoke and acted against the LORD, defying His glorious presence.
- Matt 18:7Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!
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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 2:17 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
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