Behold, the days come that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, that there will not be an old man in your house.
Parallel Translations
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Behold, the days come that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, that there will not be an old man in your house.
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Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.
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Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 2:31 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Samuel 22:17-20 The king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn, and kill the priests of Yahweh; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled, and didn’t disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king wouldn’t put out their hand to fall on the priests of Yahweh. The king said to Doeg, “Turn and attack the priests!” Doeg the Edomite turned, and he attacked the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five people who wore a linen ephod. He struck Nob, the city of the priests, with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing babies, and cattle and donkeys and sheep, with the edge of the sword. One of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.
- 1 Samuel 4:2 The Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. When they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.
- 1 Samuel 4:11-20 God’s ark was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. A man of Benjamin ran out of the army and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for God’s ark. When the man came into the city and told about it, all the city cried out. When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, “What does the noise of this tumult mean?” The man hurried, and came and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes were set, so that he could not see. The man said to Eli, “I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army.” He said, “How did the matter go, my son?” He who brought the news answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and God’s ark has been captured.” When he made mention of God’s ark, Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck broke, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years. His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to giving birth. When she heard the news that God’s ark was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth; for her pains came on her. About the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she didn’t answer, neither did she regard it.
- 1 Samuel 14:3 including Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of Yahweh in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. The people didn’t know that Jonathan was gone.
- 1 Kings 2:26-27 To Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields; for you are worthy of death. But I will not at this time put you to death, because you bore the Lord Yahweh’s ark before David my father, and because you were afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted.” So Solomon thrust Abiathar out from being priest to Yahweh, that he might fulfill Yahweh’s word, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
- 1 Kings 2:35 The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army; and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.
- Job 22:9 You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
- Psalms 37:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds the righteous.
- Ezekiel 30:21-24 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Behold, it has not been bound up, to apply medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it become strong to hold the sword. Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong arm, and that which was broken. I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand; but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before the king of Babylon with the groaning of a mortally wounded man.
- Ezekiel 44:10 “ ‘ “But the Levites who went far from me, when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, they will bear their iniquity.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Thy power and authority.
Thy power and authority.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 2:31 Behold, the days come, that I will…
1Sa 2:31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.
Ver. 31. I will cut off thine arm,] e.g., The ability and dignity of thy family. See Zec 11:17. {See Trapp on "Zec 11:17"}
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There shall not be an old man in thine house,] Because, being an old man, thou hast no better quitted thyself in thy place and station, This was not executed for many years after, that it might be considered, and course taken to prevent it. God therefore threateneth, that he may not be put to punish.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I will cut off thine arm, i.e. I will…
I will cut off thine arm, i.e. I will take away thy strength, which is oft signified by the arm, as Job 22:8; Psa 37:17, or all that in which thou placest thy confidence and security; either,
1. The ark, which is called God’s strength, Psa 78:61, and was Eli’s strength, who therefore was not able to beat the very tidings of the loss of it, 1Sa 4:18. Or,
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2. His priestly dignity or employment, whence he had all his honour and substance. Or rather,
3. His children, to whom the words following here, and in the succeeding verses, seem to confine it, who are the strength of parents: see Gen 49:3; Deu 21:17; Psa 127:4,5.
The arm of thy father’s house, i.e. thy children’s children, and all thy family; which was in great measure accomplished, 1Sa 22:16, &c.
There shall not be an old man in thine house; they shall generally be cut off by an untimely death before they be old.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation,....…
And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation,.... Either the Philistines in the land of Israel, where God chose to dwell, who quickly after made war against Israel, and pitched in Aphek, Sa1 4:1 or, as in the margin of our Bibles, and other versions (i), "thou shalt see the affliction of the tabernacle"; as he did when the ark of God was taken, at the news of which he died, Sa1 4:17 and so the Targum understands it of affliction and calamity, yet not of the house of God, but of his own house; paraphrasing the words thus,"and thou shall see the calamity that shall come upon the men of thine house, for the sins which they have committed before me in the house of my sanctuary:''but it seems best to interpret it of a rival, which not he in his own person should see, but whom his posterity should see high priest in the temple; as they did in Solomon's time, when Abiathar, of the family of Eli, was thrust out, and Zadok, of the family of Eleazar, was put in; for, as Kimchi observes, when a man has two wives, they are rivals or adversaries to one another, jealous and emulous of each other, as Elkanah's two wives were, and of one of them the same word is used as here, Sa1 1:6 so when one high priest was put out, and another taken in, the one was the rival or adversary of the other, as in the case referred to:
in all the wealth which God shall give Israel; which points exactly at the time when this should be, even men God did well to Israel, gave them great prosperity, wealth and riches, quietness and safety, a famous temple built for the worship of God, and everything in a flourishing condition, both with respect to temporals and spirituals, as was in the days of Solomon, see Kg1 4:20 and then it was amidst all that plenty and prosperity, and when the high priesthood was most honourable and profitable, that Eli's family was turned out of it, and another put into it:
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and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever; See Gill on Sa1 2:31 this is repeated for confirmation, and with this addition, that this would be the case for ever.
(i) Symmachus; "angustiam tabernaculi", Junius & Tremellius. Piscator.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Arm - That is, I will take away thy…
Arm - That is, I will take away thy strength, or all that in which thou placest thy confidence, either,
1. the ark, which is called God's strength, Psalm lxxviii, 61, and was Eli's strength, who therefore was not able to bear the very tidings of the loss of it. Or,
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2. his priestly dignity or employment, whence he had all his honour and substance. Or rather,
3. his children, to whom the words following here, and in the succeeding verses, seem to confine it. Father's house - That is, thy children's children, and all thy family which was in great measure accomplished, chap. xxii, 16, &c.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 31. I will cut off thine arm] I…
Verse 31. I will cut off thine arm] I will destroy the strength, power, and influence of thy family.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Sa 2:31. I will cut off thine arm —…
1Sa 2:31. I will cut off thine arm — I will take away thy strength, or all that in which thou placest thy confidence. This threatening was fulfilled, when the ark, which is called God’s strength, (Psa 78:61,) and was Eli’s strength, was delivered into the hands of the Philistines; and more especially when God took away all power and authority from him and his family, both as he was a priest and as he was a judge. Or, thine arm, may mean thy children, to whom the words following seem to confine the expression. Of thy father’s house — That is, thy children’s children, and all thy family; which was in a great measure accomplished, 1Sa 22:16.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I will cut off thine arm ... - A…
I will cut off thine arm ... - A strong phrase for breaking down the strength and power, of which the arm is the instrument in man (compare Zec 11:17). See 1Sa 2:33.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Arm, strength or children. I will slay some; others…
Arm, strength or children. I will slay some; others I will reduce to extreme want. Some explain it of the ark, which was the protection of Israel. (Calmet) --- Old man, to govern. (Du Hamel) --- It is often a title of dignity. But the four succeeding pontiffs did not live long. In the course of little more than 100 years, the last was deposed. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain I will cut off thine arm, and the arm…
I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house--By the withdrawal of the high priesthood from Eleazar, the elder of Aaron's two sons (after Nadab and Abihu were destroyed, [Num 3:4]), that dignity had been conferred on the family of Ithamar, to which Eli belonged, and now that his descendants had forfeited the honor, it was to be taken from them and restored to the elder branch.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 31. Cut off thine arm — To cut off…
31. Cut off thine arm — To cut off one’s arm is to deprive him of strength and render him helpless. Thus was Eli’s house disabled. Compare Job_22:9; Psa_37:17; Zec_11:17.
Not be an old man in thine house — Because the rest of his family should die in the flower of their age. 1Sa_2:33.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 31. I will cut off thine arm] = I…
31. I will cut off thine arm] = I will destroy thy strength. “The arm” is a common expression for “might,” “strength.” Cp. Psa_10:15; Zec_11:17. One signal fulfilment of this doom was the massacre of the priests at Nob (1Sa_22:18-19).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (31) I will cut off thine arm.—“The arm” signifies…
(31) I will cut off thine arm.—“The arm” signifies power and strength: “Thy power and strength, and that of thy house is doomed.” (See for the figure Job_22:9; Psa_37:17.)
And there shall not be an old man in thine house.—No one more in thy house, O High Priest, who hast so signally failed in thy solemn duty, shall attain to old age; sickness or the sword shall ever early consume its members. This strange denunciation of the “man of God” is emphasised by being repeated in the next (32) verse, and in different words again in 1Sa_2:33.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain I will cut off thine arm. The arm is…
I will cut off thine arm. The arm is the usual metaphor for strength. As Eli had preferred the exaltation of his sons to God"s honour, he is condemned to see the strength of his house broken. Nay, more; there is not to be an "old man in his house." The young men full of energy and vigour perish by the sword; the Survivors fade away by disease. The Jews say that the house of Ithamar was peculiarly short-lived, but the prophecy was amply fulfilled in the slaughter of Eli"s house, first at Shiloh, and then at Nob by Doeg the Edomite at the command of Saul. There is nothing to warrant an abiding curse upon his family. The third or fourth generation is the limit of the visitation of the sins of the fathers upon the children.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain I will cut off thine arm.
1Sa_2:31-34
I will cut off thine arm.
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Judgment upon a false priesthood
As a priest or interpreter of the holy is the noblest and highest of all men, so is a sham priest the falsest and basest; neither is it doubtful that his canonicals, were they the Popes tiaras, will be torn from him one day to make bandages for the wounds of mankind, or even to burn into tinder for honest scientific or culinary purposes. (T. Carlyle.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 "Listen carefully to what I am about to say"…
See
"Listen carefully to what I am about to say" or "What I am about to say is very important"
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I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house
The words "cut off ... strength" are probably a euphemism for the death of strong, young men; the words "your father's house" are a metonym for "your family." AT: "I will kill you and all strong, young male descendants in your family" (See: Euphemism and Metonymy)
be any old man
"be any old men" or "be any men who grow old"
cause your eyes to fail
"cause you to lose your eyesight" or "cause you to go blind"
translationWords
cut off
die
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.