23 Eli said to his sons, “Why do you do these evil things that the people tell me about?
24 No, my sons. The Lord’s people are spreading a bad report about you.
25 If you sin against someone, God can help you. But if you sin against the Lord himself, no one can help you!” But Eli’s sons would not listen to him, because the Lord had decided to put them to death.
26 The boy Samuel grew physically. He pleased the Lord and the people.
27 A man of God came to Eli and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I clearly showed myself to the family of your ancestor Aaron when they were slaves to the king of Egypt.
28 I chose them from all the tribes of Israel to be my priests. I wanted them to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the holy vest. I also let the family of your ancestor have part of all the offerings sacrificed by the Israelites.
29 So why don’t you respect the sacrifices and gifts? You honor your sons more than me. You grow fat on the best parts of the meat the Israelites bring to me.’