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No, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear! You make Yahweh’s people disobey.
1 Samuel 2:24 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD’s people to transgress.
  • BSB No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people.
  • ESV No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad.
  • NKJV No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress.
  • NASB No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the Lord’s people circulating.
  • NLT You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the Lord’s people are not good.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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

Eli warned that their bad reputation was leading the Lord's people into transgression. Their sin was harming the whole community.

Overview

Eli recognized that his sons' scandalous conduct was spreading evil among God's people, not only condemning themselves. Their misuse of holy office turned others away from proper worship. This communal damage underscores the seriousness of unfaithful leadership, whose sin ripples outward to many.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • 1 Sam 2:17The sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh; for the men despised the offering of Yahweh.
  • 1 Sam 2:22Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that they slept with the women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
  • 2 Pet 2:18For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error;
  • 2 Kgs 10:31But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He didn’t depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin.
  • Acts 6:3Therefore select from among you, brothers, seven men of good report, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
  • Rev 2:20But I have this against you, that you tolerate your woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my servants to commit sexual immorality, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.
  • Mal 2:8But you have turned aside out of the way. You have caused many to stumble in the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of Armies.
  • 1 Tim 3:7Moreover he must have good testimony from those who are outside, to avoid falling into reproach and the snare of the devil.
  • Matt 18:7“Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!
  • Exod 32:21Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”
  • 1 Kgs 15:30for the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and with which he made Israel to sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger.
  • 3 Jn 1:12Demetrius has the testimony of all, and of the truth itself; yes, we also testify, and you know that our testimony is true.
  • 1 Kgs 13:18–21He said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are; and an angel spoke to me by Yahweh’s word, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” He lied to him.
  • 2 Cor 6:8by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 2:24YouTube · 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 2:24 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.