1 Samuel 2:35
New International Version
I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always.

New Living Translation
“Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever.

English Standard Version
And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.

Berean Standard Bible
Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. And I will build for him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed one for all time.

King James Bible
And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

New King James Version
Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.

New American Standard Bible
But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

NASB 1995
‘But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

NASB 1977
‘But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

Legacy Standard Bible
But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him a faithful house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

Amplified Bible
But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him a permanent and enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed forever.

Christian Standard Bible
“ ‘Then I will raise up a faithful priest for myself. He will do whatever is in my heart and mind. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him, and he will walk before my anointed one for all time.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“ ‘Then I will raise up a faithful priest for Myself. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him, and he will walk before My anointed one for all time.

American Standard Version
And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And I shall raise up for myself a Priest who is trusted as my heart, and he shall do according to that in my heart and in my soul, and I shall build for him a trustworthy house, and he shall walk before me, my Anointed One, all of his days

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And I will raise up to myself a faithful priest, who shall do all that is in my heart and in my soul; and I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before my Christ for ever.

Contemporary English Version
I have chosen someone else to be my priest, someone who will be faithful and obey me. I will always let his family serve as priests and help my chosen king.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I will raise me up a faithful priest, who shall do according to my heart, and my soul, and I will build him a faithful house, and he shall walk all days before my anointed.

English Revised Version
And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then I will appoint a faithful priest to serve me. He will do everything I want him to do. I will give him faithful descendants, and he will always live as my anointed one.

Good News Translation
I will choose a priest who will be faithful to me and do everything I want him to. I will give him descendants, who will always serve in the presence of my chosen king.

International Standard Version
And I'll raise up for myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in my heart and according to my desire. I'll build for him an enduring house and he will walk before my anointed one forever.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And I will raise Me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in My heart and in My mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before Mine anointed for ever.

Literal Standard Version
and I have raised up a steadfast priest for Myself; he does as in My heart and in My soul; and I have built a steadfast house for him, and he has walked up and down before My anointed all the days;

Majority Standard Bible
Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. And I will build for him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed one for all time.

New American Bible
I will choose a faithful priest who shall do what I have in heart and mind. I will establish a lasting house for him and he shall serve in the presence of my anointed forever.

NET Bible
Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what is in my heart and soul. I will build for him a secure dynasty and he will serve my chosen one for all time.

New Revised Standard Version
I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed one forever.

New Heart English Bible
I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my anointed forever.

Webster's Bible Translation
And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my Anointed for ever.

World English Bible
I will raise up a faithful priest for myself who will do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house. He will walk before my anointed forever.

Young's Literal Translation
and I have raised up for Me a stedfast priest; as in My heart and in My soul he doth do; and I have built for him a stedfast house, and he hath walked up and down before Mine anointed all the days;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Prophecy Against the House of Eli
34And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day. 35Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. And I will build for him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed one for all time. 36And everyone left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a morsel of bread, pleading, “Please appoint me to some priestly office so that I can eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”…

Cross References
Exodus 1:21
And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.

1 Samuel 2:36
And everyone left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a morsel of bread, pleading, "Please appoint me to some priestly office so that I can eat a piece of bread."'"

1 Samuel 3:1
And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare and visions were scarce.

1 Samuel 7:9
Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on behalf of Israel, and the LORD answered him.

1 Samuel 8:3
But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.

1 Samuel 9:12
"Yes, he is ahead of you," they answered. "Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place.

1 Samuel 9:13
As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests will eat. Go up at once; you will find him."


Treasury of Scripture

And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my anointed for ever.

I will raise

1 Kings 1:8,45
But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah…

1 Kings 2:35
And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.

1 Chronicles 29:22
And did eat and drink before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto the LORD to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest.

I will build

1 Samuel 25:28
I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

Exodus 1:21
And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

Numbers 25:13
And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.

mine

Psalm 2:2
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

Psalm 18:50
Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

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1 Samuel 2
1. Hannah's song in thankfulness
12. The sin of Eli's sons
18. Samuel's ministry
20. by Eli's blessing Hannah is more fruitful
22. Eli reproves his sons
27. A prophecy against Eli's house














(35) A faithful priest.--Who here is alluded to by this "faithful priest," of whom such a noble life was predicted, and to whom such a glorious promise as that "he should walk before mine anointed for ever," was made? Many of the conditions are fairly fulfilled by Samuel, to whom naturally our thoughts at once turn. He occupies a foremost place in the long Jewish story, and immediately succeeded Eli in most of his important functions as the acknowledged chief of the religious and political life in Israel. He was also eminently and consistently faithful to his master and God during his whole life. Samuel, though a Levite, was not of the sons of Aaron; yet he seems, even in Eli's days, to have ministered as a priest before the Lord, the circumstances of his early connection with the sanctuary being exceptional. After Eli's death, when the regular exercise of the Levitical ritual and priesthood was suspended by the separation of the ark from the tabernacle, Samuel evidently occupied a priestly position, and we find him for a long period standing as mediator between Jehovah and His people, in sacrifice, prayer, and intercession, in the performance of which high offices his duty, after the solemn anointing of Saul as king, was to walk before the anointed of the Lord (Saul), while (to use the words of Von Gerlach, quoted by Erdmann), the Aaronic priesthood fell for a long time into such disrepute that it had to beg for honour and support from him (1Samuel 2:36), and became dependent on the new order of things instituted by Samuel. (See Excursus C at the end of this Book.)

The prediction "I will build him a sure house" is satisfied in the strong house and numerous posterity given to Samuel by God. His grandson Heman was "the king's seer in the words of God," and was placed by King David over the choir in the house of God. This eminent personage, Heman, had fourteen sons and three daughters (1Chronicles 6:33; 1Chronicles 25:4-5).

Samuel also fulfilled the prophecy "He shall walk before mine anointed for ever" in his close and intimate relation with King Saul, who we find, even after the faithful prophet's death--although the later acts of Saul had alienated the prophet from his sovereign--summoning the spirit of Samuel as the only one who was able to counsel and strengthen him (1Samuel 28:15).

Of the other interpretations, that of Rashi and Abarbanel, and many of the moderns, which supposes the reference to be Zadok, of the house of Eleazar, who, in the reign of Solomon, superseded Abiathar, of the house of Ithamar (the ancestor of Eli), alone fairly satisfies most of the different predictions, but we are met with this insurmountable difficulty at the outset--Can we assume that the comparatively unknown Zadok, after the lapse of so many years, was pointed out by the magnificent promises contained in the words of the "man of God" to Eli? The words of the "man of God" surely indicate a far greater one than any high priest of the time of Solomon. In the golden days of this magnificent king, the high priest, overshadowed by the splendour and power of the sovereign, was a very subordinate figure indeed in Israel; but the subject of this prophecy was one evidently destined to hold no secondary and inferior position. . . .

Verse 35. - I will raise me up a faithful priest. This prophecy is explained in three several ways, of Samuel, of Zadok, and of Christ. St. Augustine, who considers the whole passage at length in his 'De Civ. Dei,' 17:5, argues that it cannot be reasonably said that a change in the priesthood foretold with so great circumstance was fulfilled in Samuel. But while we grant that it was an essential characteristic of Jewish prophecy to be ever larger than the immediate fulfilment, yet its primary meaning must never be slurred over, as if it were a question of slight importance. By the largeness of its terms, the grandeur of the hopes it inspired, and the incompleteness of their immediate accomplishment, the Jews were taught to look ever onward, and so became a Messianic people. Granting then that Christ and his Church are the object and end of this and of all prophecy, the question narrows itself to this - In whom was this prediction of a faithful priest primarily fulfilled? We answer, Not in Zadok, but in Samuel. Zadok was a commonplace personage, of whom little or nothing is said after the time that he joined David with a powerful contingent (1 Chronicles 12:28). Samuel is the one person in Jewish history who approaches the high rank of Moses, Israel's founder (Jeremiah 15:1). The argument that he was a Levite, and not a priest, takes too narrow and technical a view of the matter; for the essence of the priesthood lies not in the offering of sacrifice, but in mediation. Sacrifice is but an accident, being the appointed method by which the priest was to mediate between God and man. As a matter of fact, Samuel often did discharge priestly functions (1 Samuel 7:9, 17; 1 Samuel 13:8, where we find Saul reproved for invading Samuel's office; 1 Samuel 16:2), and it is a point to be kept in mind that the regular priests disappear from Jewish history for about fifty years after the slaughter of themselves, their wives, and families at Shiloh; for it is not until Saul's time that Ahiah, the great-grandson of Eli, appears, as once again ministering at the altar (1 Samuel 14:3). The calamity that overtook the nation at the end of Eli's reign was so terrible that all ordinary ministrations seem to have been in abeyance. We are even expressly told that after the recovery of the ark it was placed in the house of Abinadab at Kirjath-jearim in Judaea, and that for twenty years his son Eleazar, though a Levite only, ministered there before it by no regular consecration, but by the appointment of the men of that town. During this time, though Ahitub, Ahiah's father, was probably high priest nominally, yet nothing is said of him, and all the higher functions of the office were exercised by Samuel. Instead of the Urim and Thummim, he as prophet was the direct representative of the theocratic king. Subsequently this great duty was once again discharged by Abiathar as priest, and then a mighty change was made, and the prophets with the living voice of inspiration took the place of the priest with the ephod. For this is a far more important matter than even the fact that Samuel performed the higher functions of the priesthood. With him a new order of things began. Prophecy, from being spasmodic and irregular, became an established institution, and took its place side by side with the priesthood in preparing for Christ's advent, and in forming the Jewish nation to be the evangelisers of the world. The prediction of this organic change followed the rule of all prophecy in taking its verbal form and expression from what was then existent. Just as the gospel dispensation is always described under figures taken from the Jewish Church and commonwealth, so Samuel, as the founder of the prophetic schools, and of the new order of things which resulted from them, is described to Eli under terms taken from his priestly office. He was a "faithful priest," and much more, just as our Lord was a "prophet like unto Moses" (Deuteronomy 18:15), and a "King set upon the holy hill of Zion" (Psalm 2:6), but in a far higher sense than any would have supposed at the time when these prophecies were spoken. As regards the specific terms of the prophecy, "the building of a sure house" (1 Samuel 25:28; 2 Samuel 7:11; 1 Kings 2:24; 1 Kings 11:38; Isaiah 32:18) is a metaphor expressive of assured prosperity. The mass of the Israelites dwelt in tents (2 Samuel 11:11; 2 Samuel 20:1, etc.; 1 Kings 12:16), and to have a fixed and permanent dwelling was a mark of greatness. From such passages as 1 Kings 2:24; 1 Kings 11:38, it is plain that the idea of founding a family is not contained in the expression. As a matter of fact, Samuel's family was prosperous, and his grandson Heman had high rank in David's court and numerous issue (1 Chronicles 25:5). Probably too the men of Ramah, who with the men of the Levite town of Gaba made up a total of 621 persons (Nehemiah 7:30), represented the descendants of Samuel at the return from Babylon. Nevertheless, the contrast is between the migratory, life in tents and the ease and security of a solid and firm abode, and the terms of the promise are abundantly fulfilled in Samuel's personal greatness. In the promise, "he shall walk before mine anointed forever," there is the same outlook upon the office of king, as if already in existence, which we observed in Hannah's hymn (1 Samuel 2:10). Apparently the expectation that Jehovah was about to anoint, i.e. consecrate, for them some one to represent him in civil matters and war, as the high priest represented him in things spiritual, had taken possession of the minds of the people. It had been clearly promised them, and regulations for the office made (Deuteronomy 17:14-20); and it was to be Samuel's office to fulfil this wish, and all his life through he held a post of high dignity in the kingdom. But the promise has also a definite meaning as regards the prophets, in whom Samuel lived on. For St. Augnstine's error was in taking Samuel simply in his personal relations, whereas he is the representative of the whole prophetic order (Acts 3:24). They were his successors in his work, and continued to be the recognised mediators to declare to king and people the will of Jehovah, who was the supreme authority in both Church and state; and in political matters they were the appointed check upon the otherwise absolute power of the kings, with whose appointment their own formal organisation exactly coincided. From Samuel's time prophet and king walked together till the waiting period began which immediately preceded the nativity of Christ.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then I will raise up
וַהֲקִימֹתִ֥י (wa·hă·qî·mō·ṯî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6965: To arise, stand up, stand

for Myself
לִי֙ (lî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

a faithful
נֶאֱמָ֔ן (ne·’ĕ·mān)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 539: To confirm, support

priest.
כֹּהֵ֣ן (kō·hên)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3548: Priest

He will do
יַעֲשֶׂ֑ה (ya·‘ă·śeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

whatever
כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר (ka·’ă·šer)
Preposition-k | Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

is in My heart
בִּלְבָבִ֥י (bil·ḇā·ḇî)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 3824: Inner man, mind, will, heart

and mind.
וּבְנַפְשִׁ֖י (ū·ḇə·nap̄·šî)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

And I will build
וּבָנִ֤יתִי (ū·ḇā·nî·ṯî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 1129: To build

for him
לוֹ֙ (lōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

an enduring
נֶאֱמָ֔ן (ne·’ĕ·mān)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 539: To confirm, support

house,
בַּ֣יִת (ba·yiṯ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

and he will walk
וְהִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ‪‬ (wə·hṯ·hal·lêḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

before
לִפְנֵֽי־ (lip̄·nê-)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

My anointed one
מְשִׁיחִ֖י (mə·šî·ḥî)
Adjective - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 4899: Anointed, a consecrated person, the Messiah

for all time.
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every


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OT History: 1 Samuel 2:35 I will raise me up a faithful (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 2:34
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