8 The Lord raises the poor up from the dust.And he picks needy people up from the ashes.He lets the poor sit with princes.He lets them sit on a throne of honor.“The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord.The Lord set the world upon them.
9 He protects his holy people.But those who do evil will be silenced in darkness.Their power will not help them win.
10 The Lord destroys his enemies.He will thunder in heaven against them.The Lord will judge all the earth.He will give power to his king.He will make his appointed king strong.”
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy continued to serve the Lord under Eli the priest.
12 Now Eli’s sons were evil men. They did not care about the Lord.
13 This is what the priests would do to the people: Every time someone brought a sacrifice, the meat would be cooked in a pot. The priest’s servant would then come with a fork in his hand. The fork had three prongs.
14 He would plunge the fork into the pot or the kettle. Whatever the fork brought out of the pot belonged to the priest. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices.