1 Samuel 3 14

1 Samuel 3:14 kjv

And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

1 Samuel 3:14 nkjv

And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."

1 Samuel 3:14 niv

Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, 'The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.'?"

1 Samuel 3:14 esv

Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."

1 Samuel 3:14 nlt

So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings."

1 Samuel 3 verses

1 Samuel 3 14 Meaning

The verse proclaims a definitive and irreversible divine decree against the priestly house of Eli. God declared that due to the severe iniquity committed by Eli’s sons, particularly their contempt for the LORD’s sacrifices, and Eli’s failure to adequately restrain them, their sin would never be atoned for through any prescribed ritual sacrifice or offering from the Mosaic Law, establishing a permanent judgment on their family line concerning the priesthood.

1 Samuel 3 14 Context

The declaration in 1 Samuel 3:14 follows directly after God’s initial revelation to the young Samuel regarding the judgment upon Eli’s house. Chapter 2 recounts the profound wickedness of Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who profaned the tabernacle sacrifices, disrespected God’s offerings, and sexually exploited women ministering at the tabernacle. Eli, as the high priest and their father, knew of their atrocious conduct but failed to rebuke them effectively, thus honoring his sons above God (1 Sam 2:29). A man of God had previously warned Eli (1 Sam 2:27-36) of the impending demise of his priestly lineage. In chapter 3, God reconfirms and solidifies this judgment through Samuel, emphasizing the irrevocability of the consequences due to the unique nature of their sin, which was a blatant desecration of God’s holy covenant and worship. Historically, this occurred during the turbulent period of the Judges, a time marked by widespread spiritual decay and idolatry, where the institution of the priesthood itself had become corrupt, signifying a low point in Israel’s spiritual walk before the establishment of the monarchy.

1 Samuel 3 14 Word analysis

• Therefore (`לָכֵן`, lakhen): This strong adverb signals a decisive conclusion drawn from the preceding events and God’s established principle of justice. It indicates that what follows is a direct consequence of Eli’s and his sons’ actions.
• I swear (`נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי`, nishbati): Derived from the root shaba (to swear, take an oath). When God "swears," it is an absolute and unchangeable declaration, binding Himself to fulfill His word. This divine oath signifies the utter certainty and permanence of the judgment.
• to the house of Eli (`בֵית עֵלִי`, bet Eli): Refers to the collective family line and priestly succession descending from Eli. The judgment is not just on the individuals, but on their generational privilege within the priestly office.
• that the iniquity (`עֲוֹן`, avon): Denotes moral perversity, guilt, or the consequences/punishment for sin. It implies a deeply rooted, intentional turning away from God's way. The particular 'iniquity' here refers to the sons' blasphemous contempt for sacred things and Eli's passive complicity, constituting a gross violation of their priestly office and the covenant.
• of his house (`בֵיתוֹ`, beyto): Reinforces the corporate nature of the sin and its punishment, impacting the entire lineage associated with Eli's household and the priesthood it held.
• shall not be atoned for (`יִתְכַּפֵּר`, yitkapper): From the root kaphar, meaning to cover, purge, or make atonement. In the Mosaic Law, atonement covered sin through ritual blood sacrifices, making reconciliation possible. The negative construction "shall not be atoned for" signifies that, for this specific corporate judgment, the conventional means of covering sin under the Old Covenant would be ineffective in averting the divinely pronounced punishment. It doesn't deny God's power to forgive personal repentance but asserts the fixed nature of this family's specific judicial consequence.
• by sacrifice (`בְּזֶבַח`, b'zevach): Refers generally to animal offerings, typically burnt offerings or peace offerings that expressed worship or made expiation.
• or offering (`וּבְמִנְחָה`, u'mincha): Specifically refers to grain offerings or meal offerings, which accompanied many animal sacrifices or could be offered independently. The combination of "sacrifice" and "offering" encompasses the full range of ritual oblations prescribed in the Torah for atonement and reconciliation.
• forever (`עַד עוֹלָם`, ad olam): Emphasizes the unending and irrevocable nature of this specific judgment against Eli's house. It indicates that no amount or kind of future ritual sacrifices could reverse this specific, corporate, and divinely sworn pronouncement regarding their removal from the priestly office.

• "Therefore I swear to the house of Eli": This phrase introduces a divine, solemn, and unalterable oath concerning the lineage of Eli. God Himself, the unchanging one, commits to a judgment that cannot be revoked.
• "that the iniquity of his house": This highlights that the judgment is not merely against individual members, but a corporate judgment affecting the entire family line that held the priestly privilege. The iniquity was systemic and severe.
• "shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever": This is the core declaration of judgment. It signifies that for this specific, egregious sin – contempt for God's holiness in His house by those entrusted with sacred duties – the normal, divinely prescribed ritual means of atonement would not suffice to avert the determined punishment for Eli’s lineage. It demonstrates the limitations of the Old Covenant sacrificial system in dealing with a sin of such high-handed contempt against God’s name and sanctuary when compounded by leadership failure.

1 Samuel 3 14 Bonus section

This powerful verse serves several theological and practical functions:

• Prophetic Fulfillment: The judgment pronounced here was indeed fulfilled throughout Israel's history. Eli and his sons died on the same day as foretold (1 Sam 4:11, 18). Later, King Saul killed many of Eli’s priestly descendants at Nob (1 Sam 22:11-18), and eventually, King Solomon removed Abiathar, a descendant of Eli, from the high priesthood (1 Kgs 2:26-27), completing the ousting of Eli’s line from the position of high priest.
• Precedence for Leadership Accountability: It profoundly emphasizes that those in spiritual leadership carry a heavier responsibility, and their failures, especially in handling sacred matters and maintaining God's honor, incur severe consequences from God (Jas 3:1).
• Limitations of Ritual: While animal sacrifices provided temporary covering for many sins, this verse reveals a critical limitation. Sins committed with deliberate defiance, disrespect for God’s holiness, and against light and privilege could reach a point where the traditional sacrifices could not avert their specific, divinely appointed governmental consequences, particularly when repentance and reform were absent. It points towards the need for something beyond animal blood – the perfect, once-for-all atonement found only in Jesus Christ (Heb 10:4, 10-14) which truly takes away sins and provides a final answer to humanity’s deepest iniquity.
• The Faithful Priest: In contrast to Eli's corrupt lineage, 1 Samuel 2:35 contains a parallel prophecy of a "faithful priest" whom God would raise up, serving as a messianic shadow that points ultimately to Jesus Christ, the true and faithful High Priest who never fails (Heb 4:14-15; 7:23-28).

1 Samuel 3 14 Commentary

The judgment on Eli's house in 1 Samuel 3:14 is a profound declaration of God's unyielding holiness and His absolute demand for reverent obedience, especially from those set apart for sacred service. Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, had flagrantly defied the very essence of the Mosaic covenant by treating God's sacrifices with contempt and engaging in grave immoral acts at the tabernacle. Eli's culpability stemmed from his passive dishonor towards God; he prioritized the comfort of his sons over the sanctity of God's house and commands. This verse underscores that for a sin of such deliberate, public, and high-handed sacrilege—a direct assault on God's holiness through the desecration of His atonement rituals—the very sacrifices intended to cover sin could not then avert the determined divine judgment on the perpetrators' line. This was not a statement against the efficacy of the Old Testament sacrificial system for common sin or unintentional trespasses, but a declaration that the magnitude and nature of Eli's family's sin (specifically, profaning the offerings of the LORD) put it beyond the capacity of those specific sacrifices to cover the specific corporate consequences God decreed. The judgment ensures the removal of a corrupt priesthood and foreshadows God's initiation of a new, faithful order.