1 Samuel 2:16

Verse

And if any man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you may take whatever you want,” the servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you refuse, I will take it by force!”

American Standard Version (1901)

And if the man said unto him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would say, Nay, but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

Bible in Basic English

And if the man said to him, First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you will; then the servant would say, No, you are to give it to me now, or I will take it by force.

Free Bible Version

The man might answer, “Let me first burn up all the fat, and then you can have as much as you want.” But the priest's servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me now. If you don't, I'll take it by force.”

King James (Authorized) Version

And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

Translation for Translators

If the man said to the servant, “Let the priests cut off and burn the fat first; then you can take what you want,” the servant would reply, “No, give it to me now; if you do not give it to me, I will take it forcefully!”

Unlocked Literal Bible

If the man said to him, “They must burn the fat first, and then take as much as you want.” Then he would say, “No, you will give it me now; if not, I will take it by force.”

Noah Webster Bible

And if any man said to him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, No ; but thou shalt give it to me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

World English Bible

If the man said to him, “Let the fat be burned first, and then take as much as your soul desires;” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.”

Young's Literal Translation

and the man saith unto him, 'Let them surely make a perfume (as to-day) with the fat, then take to thee as thy soul desireth;' and he hath said to him, 'Surely now thou dost give; and if not — I have taken by strength.'

Context

Eli’s Wicked Sons

¹⁵Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”¹⁶And if any man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you may take whatever you want,” the servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you refuse, I will take it by force!”

Summary

In this verse, the priests were acting corruptly by demanding the best portions of meat from the people before the fat was burned for the Lord. This behavior was a violation of the proper worship practices and showed their disregard for God's commands. It reflects a lack of reverence and honor for the Lord's portion, revealing their selfish and greedy motives. This passage serves as a warning against exploiting one's position for personal gain and emphasizes the importance of sincere and obedient worship to God.

Commentary

John Gill

John Gill Bible Commentary

Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord,.... That is, the sons of Eli; for they were the ringleaders who set these bad examples, which other priests followed, and therefore the sin is ascribed to them; and which was sadly aggravated by taking what was not their own, and by taking it in a forcible manner, and before the Lord had his part in the offering, and all this done in the tabernacle, in the presence of God; which plainly showed that they had not the fear of God before their eyes, nor any sense of his omniscience and omnipresence, any more than of his holiness and justice: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord; it was irksome and disagreeable to them to bring their sacrifices, when they saw the law of God was not attended to, and the rules of sacrificing were not observed; such contempt of God, such abuse of sacrifices, such injury done to the sacrificers, and such covetousness and sensuality in the priests, that it even set the people against sacrifices, and made them loath them, and neglect to bring them. And this aggravated the sin of the young men, though the sacrificers were not excused hereby, Sa1 2:24.