1 Samuel 2:29

1Sa 2:29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded [in my] habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

Ver. 29. Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice?] i.e., Why slight ye, and, as headstrong horses, {a} trample under foot my holy ordinances?

“ Quae tibi pro vili, sub pedibusque iacent? ”

And honourest thy sons above me.] Choosing rather to gratify them than to glorify me, by abdicating them from the priesthood. But it may be Eli feared lest the high priesthood should by this means go from his family, as it had before from Eleazar’s for like misdemeanour, which also afterwards befell him, and he by seeking to prevent it, hastened it.

To make yourselves fat with the chiefest.] Whereby you intrench upon God’s part. And because Eli himself ate part thereof, he is also blamed: or rather because he suffered these disorders. Of Claudius, Emperor, it was said, Non faciendo malus, sed patiendo, fuit. And of Edward the Confessor, that, by Earl Godwin’s insolencies, though a good man, yet, not by doing, but enduring ill, he was held to be a bad prince. {b}

{a} Metaph. a refractario pecore. - Pisc.

{b} Dan. Hist.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 2:29. Wherefore kick ye, &c. — Using my sacrifices irreverently and profanely; both by abusing them to your own luxury, and by causing the people to abhor them. He chargeth Eli with his sons’ faults. Honourest thy sons — Permitting them to dishonour and injure me, by taking my part to themselves; choosing rather to offend me by thy connivance at their sin, than to displease them by severe rebukes and just punishments. To make yourselves fat — To pamper yourselves. This you did, not out of necessity, but out of mere luxury. Chiefest — Not contented with those parts which I had allotted you, you invaded those which I reserved for myself.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2:29 By failing to stop his sons’ wickedness, Eli showed contempt for God’s sacrifices and offerings. Eli benefited from his sons’ activities, and God held Eli responsible for letting them continue.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Why have you contemned my sacrifices, and as it were trod them under foot?

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 29. Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice] They disdained to take the part allowed by law; and would take for themselves what part they pleased, and as much as they pleased, 1Sa 2:13-16: thus they kicked at the sacrifices.

Honourest thy sons above me] Permitting them to deal, as above, with the offerings and sacrifices, and take their part before the fat, &c., was burnt unto the Lord: thus they were first served. At this Eli connived, and thus honoured his sons above God.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(29) Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice.—The imagery of the words are taken from Deu_32:15 : “Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked . . . then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.” The image is one drawn from the pastoral life of the people: the ox or ass over-fed, pampered, and indulged, becomes unmanageable, and refuses obedience to his kind master.

And honourest thy sons above me.—Although Eli knew well what was right, yet foolish fondness for his sons seems in part to have blinded his eyes to the enormity of their wickedness. It is also probable that he was influenced not by feelings of weak affection, but also by unwillingness to divert from his own family the rich source of wealth which proceeded from the offerings of the pilgrims from all parts of the land. These considerations induced him to maintain these bad and covetous men as his acknowledged representatives in the national sanctuary of Shiloh. Eli then allowed things, which gradually grew worse and worse, to drift, and merely interfered with a weak rebuke; but the day of reckoning was at hand.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

29. Wherefore kick ye] Better, Wherefore do ye trample upon, i.e. treat with contempt.

at my sacrifice and at mine offering] When the words are distinguished, that rendered sacrifice (literally slaying) includes as a general term all sacrifices of slain animals: that rendered offering (literally a gift) is applied to unbloody sacrifices, the so-called meat-offering: but the latter is often used in a wide sense to include all kinds of sacrifice, e.g. in 1Sa_2:17. The distinction between the words is fairly observed in the E. V.

in my habitation] The word is used again in 1Sa_2:32, and in Psa_26:8, of the tabernacle. The Heb. is obscure, and the Sept. rendering diverges considerably from the present text, thus, “And wherefore didst thou look upon my offering and my sacrifice with a shameless eye?”

with the chiefest of all the offerings] “With the first,” or, “best part of every offering,” which should have been God’s. See note on 1Sa_2:13.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith,.... This being the case, so much contempt cast upon his sacrifices, and dishonour on himself:

I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever; or minister in the priest's office before him: if the house of Aaron in general is meant, it did continue so to do, in one branch or another of it, as long as the Mosaic dispensation lasted, which is meant by the phrase "for ever"; but since it is afterwards denied that it should, rather the house of Ithamar, or of the immediate parent of Eli, is meant, and this said when the priesthood was translated from the family of Eleazar to the family of Ithamar; when, and on what account that was done, we nowhere read. It is a tradition (f), that it was in the time of the Levite's concubine; and because Phinehas, and the other priests, did not go from city to city, and reprove the Israelites for the many sins they were fallen into, that the priesthood was taken away out of the family of Eleazar, and translated to that of Ithamar:

but now the Lord saith, be it far from me; to continue the priesthood in the line of Ithamar; which argues no change in the purposes or promises of God, this being not a decree of his, but a declaration of his will; that if the house of Ithamar behaved well in the discharge of the office of the high priest, it should continue with them to the end of the Mosaic dispensation, but if not, it should be taken from them, and restored to the family of Eleazar; as it was in Solomon's time:

for them that honour me I will honour; as Phinehas the son of Eleazar did at Shittim, where he showed his zeal for the Lord of hosts, and had the promise of the everlasting priesthood; and which continued in his family until the Babylonish captivity, excepting the interval in which it was in the family of Ithamar, and for what reason is not known:

and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed; as the posterity of Eli, whose sons despised the Lord, and his offerings, as appeared by their conduct; and these were killed in battle in one day, and in the times of Solomon, Abiathar, of the posterity of Eli, was thrust out of the priesthood, and Zadok, of the line of Eleazar, was put in his room, Kg1 2:27.

(f) Midrash Samuel, apud Jarch. & Kimch. in loc.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Wherefore kick ye - See the marginal reference. The well-fed beast becomes unmanageable and refractory, and refuses the yoke, and bursts the bonds Jer 5:5. So the priests, instead of being grateful for the provision made for them, in their pampered pride became dissatisfied, wantonly broke the laws of God which regulated their share of the offerings, and gave themselves up to an unbridled indulgence of their passions and their covetousness.

Honourest thy sons above me - What restrained Eli from taking vigorous action to vindicate God’s honor, was his unwillingness to lose for his sons the lucrative office of the priesthood. He was willing to rebuke them, he was grieved at their misdeeds, but he was not willing to give up the wealth and plenty which flowed into his house from the offerings of Israel.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Away, by scandalizing the people, and causing them to neglect offering the appointed victims. (Haydock) --- To eat. Heli seems to have refrained from divesting his sons of their high office, that the riches of his family might not be impaired. (Calmet) --- Avarice is the root of many evils, and those who seek to become rich fall into many snares. Poverty soon overtook the descendants of Heli, while the immediate perpetrators of the wickedness were punished with death. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice; using them irreverently, contemptuously, and profanely; both by abusing them to your own luxury, and by causing the people to abhor and neglect them? He chargeth Eli with his sons’ faults.

Honourest thy sons above me; permitting them to dishonour and injure me, by taking my part to themselves; choosing rather to offend me by thy connivance at their sin, than to displease them by severe rebukes, and effectual restraints, and just punishments; and so prefer their will, and pleasure, and honour, before mine.

To make yourselves fat; to pamper yourselves. This you did not out of any necessity, but out of mere luxury.

The chiefest of all the offerings; not contented with those parts which I had allotted you, you invaded those choice parts which I reserved for myself.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. Kick ye at my sacrifice — Literally, Why trample ye under foot, that is, despise, treat with contempt, my sacrifices? Eli treated with contempt the offerings by allowing his sons to desecrate the holy service when he had the authority and power to punish them as their sins deserved. In this way he virtually honoured his sons more than God. According to 1Sa_2:15-16, they appropriated the most choice of the offerings to themselves, thus making themselves fat at the expense and reproach of Israel and God.

Habitation — The tabernacle, the immediate dwelling place of Jehovah.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Kick ye - Using them irreverently, and profanely; both by abusing them to your own luxury, and by causing the people to abhor them. He chargeth Eli with his sons faults. honourest thy sons - Permitting them to dishonour and injure me, by taking my part to themselves; chusing rather to offend me by thy connivance at their sin, than to displease them by severe rebukes, and just punishments. Fat - To pamper yourselves. This you did not out of necessity, but out of mere luxury. Chiefest - Not contented with those parts which I had allotted you, you invaded those choice parts which I reserved for myself.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Connecting Statement:

The man of God continues to speak to Eli.

Why, then, do you scorn my sacrifices ... live?

This rhetorical question is a rebuke. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "You should not scorn my sacrifices ... where I live." (See: Rhetorical Question)

the place where I live

"the place where my people bring offerings to me"

making yourselves fat with the best of every offering

The best part of the offering was to be burned up as an offering to Yahweh, but the priests were eating it.

the house of your ancestor

The word "house" is a metonym for the people who lived in the house. See how you translated this in 1 Samuel 2:27. AT: "the family of your ancestor" (See: Metonymy)

should walk before me

This is an idiom that means "live in obedience to me." (See: Idiom)

Far be it from me to do this

"I will certainly not allow your family to serve me forever"

those who despise me will be lightly esteemed

The words "lightly esteemed" is an ironic euphemism for "greatly despised." This can be stated in active form. AT: "I will lightly esteem those who despise me" or "I will greatly despise those who despise me" (See: Irony and Euphemism and Active or Passive)

translationWords

honor

promise

walk

eternity

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Which I commanded you [to bring in My] Sanctuary. Which I commanded in My dwelling place.

To feed yourselves from the choice parts… This is an inverted sentence [meaning], "you honor your sons more than Me," ]לְעַמִּי[ before My people, i.e., in the eyes of My people, you honor your sons more than Me. And what is the honor? To feed yourselves from the choice parts of all the offerings of Yisroel. Your meal preceded My meal, as it is stated, "even before they would burn the fat…"

To feed yourselves. [לְהַבְרִיאֲכֶם] is an expression of having a meal, as in, "Please let my sister Tamar come and serve [וְתַבְרֵנִי] me bread."

My people. This reverts to, "you honor your sons more than Me." You showed My people that you are more honored than I. And how have you shown this? By feeding yourselves from the choice parts of My offerings.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.