1 Samuel 2 · Verse 31

1 Samuel 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.
1 Samuel 2:31, King James Version

1 Samuel 2:31 in other translations

BSBBehold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that no older man will be left in your house.
WEBBehold, 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.
ASVBehold, 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.
YLT‘Lo, days are coming, and I have cut off thine arm, and the arm of the house of thy father, that an old man is not in thy house;
DARBYBehold, 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.
BBESee, the days are coming when your arm and the arm of your father's people will be cut off;
WebsterBehold, the days come, that I will cut off thy arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.

What does 1 Samuel 2:31 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
31. 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, [Nu 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.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 31 I will cut off thine arm - I will destroy the strength, power, and influence of thy family.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 2:27-36

Those who allow their children in any evil way, and do not use their authority to restrain and punish them, in effect honour them more than God. Let Eli's example excite parents earnestly to strive against the beginnings of wickedness, and to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In the midst of the sentence against the house of Eli, mercy is promised to Israel. God's work shall never…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 2:27-36 →

1 Samuel 2:31 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הִנֵּה֙hi.Nehhere!H2009
יָמִ֣יםya.MimdaysH3117
בָּאִ֔יםba.'Im[are] comingH935
וְגָֽדַעְתִּי֙ve.ga.da'.Tiand I will cut offH1438
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
זְרֹ֣עֲךָ֔ze.Ro.'a.khaarm yourH2220
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
זְרֹ֖עַze.Ro.a'[the] arm ofH2220
בֵּ֣יתbeit[the] house ofH1004
אָבִ֑יךָ'a.Vi.khaancestor yourH1
מִֽהְי֥וֹתmih.Yotfrom beingH1961
זָקֵ֖ןza.Kenan old [man]H2205
בְּבֵיתֶֽךָ\׃be.vei.Te.khain house yourH1004

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 2:31

  • 1 Samuel 22:17-20

    And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the Lord; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the Lord. And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword. And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David.

  • 1 Kings 2:26-27

    And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord; that he might fulfil the word of the Lord, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

  • 1 Samuel 4:11-20

    And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out. And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. …

  • 1 Samuel 14:3

    And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, I–chabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.

  • 1 Samuel 4:2

    And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.

  • 1 Kings 2:35

    And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.

  • Ezekiel 30:21-24

    Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.

  • Job 22:9

    Thou hast 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 the Lord upholdeth the righteous.

  • Ezekiel 44:10

    And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I will cut.That is, I will destroy the strength, power, influence, and authority of thee and thy family; of which the arm of man being the instrument, is used as the emblem.
4:2,11,17-20; 14:3; 22:17-20; 1Ki 2:26,27,35; Job 22:9; Ps 37:17
Eze 30:21-24; 44:10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 2:30

    Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

  • 1 Samuel 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.

  • 1 Samuel 2:32

    And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.

Read all of 1 Samuel 2

1 Samuel 2:31 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
He aquí vienen días, en que cortaré tu brazo, y el brazo de la casa de tu padre, que no haya viejo en tu casa.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Voici, les jours viennent que je couperai ton bras et le bras de la maison de ton père, de sorte qu’il n’y aura plus de vieillard dans ta maison.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Siehe, Tage kommen, da werde ich deinen Arm und den Arm des Hauses deines Vaters abhauen, daß es keinen Greis mehr in deinem Hause geben wird.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Ecce dies veniunt, et præcidam brachium tuum, et brachium domus patris tui, ut non sit senex in domo tua.