1 Samuel 2:23

“Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people.

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.

ASV

And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.

YLT

and he saith to them, `Why do ye things like these? for I am hearing of your evil words from all the people--these!

DBT

And he said to them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil deeds from all this people.

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Voices5

On this verse

17. Behold, Eli was an old man, and he spoke sharply, because the power of sacred eloquence, even if it fails in the heart of the reprobate, nevertheless before those who rightly understand, subtly searches out the faults of the Jews. For examining strictly, he says: "Why do you do such things as these, the very worst things that I hear from all the people?" But he who, searching, asks "Why do you do this?" clearly shows that they were plunging into the night of heresy without the discernment of reason.

Gregory the Dialogist· Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 2, 604patristic

Related commentary

Because their father [Eli] did not chastise them with enough severity … he moved the forbearance of God to wrath so great that foreign peoples rose up against them and killed those sons of his in war in one day. His entire nation, furthermore, was vanquished, and a considerable number of his people fell.

Basil of Caesarea· PREFACE ON THE JUDGMENT OF GOD, 379patristic

And he said unto them, why do ye such things?....

John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed

Why do ye such things! - Eli appears to have been a fondly affectionate, easy father, who wished his sons to do well, but did not bring them under proper discipline, and did not use his authority to restrain them. As judge, he had power to cast them immediately out of the vineyard, as wicked and unprofitable servants; this he did not, and his and their ruin was the consequence.

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832evangelical

He said, &c. - Eli's sin was not only that he reproved them too gently, but that he contented himself with a verbal rebuke, and did not restrain them, and inflict those punishments upon them which such high crimes deserved by God's law, and which he as judge and high-priest ought to have done, without respect of persons.

John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765evangelical

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Cross-references

9 linked verses

The verses this one reaches9

Luke 16:2
So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’
Isaiah 3:9
The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.
Philippians 3:19
Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
Jeremiah 3:3
Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
1 Kings 1:6
(His father had never once reprimanded him by saying, “Why do you act this way?” Adonijah was also very handsome, born next after Absalom.)
Acts 14:15
“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
Jeremiah 8:12
Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD.
Acts 9:4
He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
Proverbs 15:5
A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction is prudent.

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Around this verse

Word doors

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

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Who & where

PersonJudges eraEliHigh priest of Israel at Shiloh who mistook Hannah's silent prayer for drunkenness and raised the boy Samuel; his corrupt sons def…

About this book

David Slays Goliath — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

1 Samuel — The transition from judges to monarchy. Samuel rises as prophet-judge; Israel demands a king; Saul rises and is rejected; David is anointed in obscurity and flees across the wilderness. Three lives overlapping — the prophetic-judicial-royal handoff.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Traditionally Samuel (with additions after his death by Nathan and Gad — cf. 1 Chr 29:29)
Date: Events c. 1050–1010 BC; compilation during the early monarchy

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Philippians 3:19
Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
leads to
- Romans 16:18
  For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Romans 8:5–7
  Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
- 2 Peter 2:3
  In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
- Colossians 3:2
  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
- Jude 1:12–13
  These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after…
Through
Jeremiah 3:3
Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
leads to
- Leviticus 26:19
  I will break down your stubborn pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze,
- Jeremiah 5:24
  They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’
Through
Acts 14:15
“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made…
leads to
- 1 Samuel 12:21
  Do not turn aside after worthless things that cannot profit you or deliver you, for they are empty.

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

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