1 Samuel 2:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them he has set the world.

NIV: He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. 'For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's; on them he has set the world.

NASB: He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the garbage heap To seat them with nobles, And He gives them a seat of honor as an inheritance; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’S, And He set the world on them.

CSB: He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the trash heap. He seats them with noblemen and gives them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's; he has set the world on them.

NLT: He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord’s, and he has set the world in order.

KJV: He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them.

NKJV: He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the beggar from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory. “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He has set the world upon them.

Hannah has said that the Lord makes people both poor and rich (1 Samuel 2:7). He is ultimately the one who controls human fortunes. Now she focuses on the truth that God can transform the circumstances of any person from the depths of poverty and insignificance to the heights of great wealth and honor in human society.

Those who feel locked into generational poverty might not believe that. This can be especially difficult in societies which seem engineered to keep the poor underfoot and the wealthy powerful. These systems and institutions, though, are nothing compared to the Lord. He can take any person from the dust and the ash heaps to a position of wealth and power. The idea that any person is "self-made" in the sense of having built their own life out of nothing is false. God controls even that.

After all, Hannah adds, what can God not control if He is the one who made the world? The Creator can do with His creation whatever He wishes. She says specifically that the pillars or foundations of the world belong to the Lord. He owns them, and He has set the world on them. Hannah uses poetry and metaphor to illustrate God's control over all things. As a devout Hebrew, she would have known the details of the creation story in Genesis (Genesis 1—2).

First Samuel 2:1–11 contains Hannah's poetic prayer of praise to the Lord in response to His gift of a son, Samuel. She offers the prayer after delivering Samuel into Eli's care at the sanctuary in keeping with her vow to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:11, 24–28). The main emphasis of the prayer is that God is holy and sovereign. He can reverse life situations, bringing the rich and powerful down and lifting the poor, hungry, and barren. The one who controls life and death guards those faithful to Him.

After delivering Samuel to the Lord, Hannah offers a poetic prayer of praise. The sons of Eli the priest are evil, depraved men who abuse their power as priests. They coerce worshippers to give them additional meat. They sleep with women who serve at the sanctuary. In contrast, Samuel grows in favor with God and others as he grows up physically. Hannah and Elkanah continue to go to Shiloh yearly; they also have more children. Eli rebukes his sons, but they don't repent. The Lord tells Eli that all his descendants will die young and his two rebellious sons will die on the same day. The Lord will raise up a faithful priest to do His will.

The prior chapter explained how Hannah cried out to God for a son, and that her request was granted. First Samuel 2 begins with Hannah's praise to the Lord in response. Samuel remains in Shiloh where he ministers and matures. By contrast, Eli's sons are wicked and abuse their power as priests. A prophet reveals that God will cause all Eli's descendants to die young and his two sons to die on the same day. The Lord will raise up a faithful priest from another part of the family line. This provides background for Samuel's call from God in chapter 3.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.