Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
Now the sons of Eli were base men; they knew not Jehovah.
Now the sons of Eli were evil and good-for-nothing men, having no knowledge of the Lord.
Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
Now the sons of Eli were base men; they didn't know Yahweh.
Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
The sons of Eli were sons of Belial - They were perverse, wicked, profligate men; devil's children. They knew not the Lord.
"They know! nor would an angel show Him; They would not know, nor choose to know Him."
These men were the principal cause of all the ungodliness of Israel. Their most execrable conduct, described 1 Samuel 2:13-17, caused the people to abhor the Lord's offering. An impious priesthood is the grand cause of the transgressions and ruin of any nation; witness France, Germany, Spain, Ac., from 1792 to 1814.
Sons of Belial - See the marginal reference note. The phrase is very frequent in the books of Samuel. In the New Testament, Paul contrasts Christ and Belial, as if Belial were the name of an idol or the personification of evil 2 Corinthians 6:15. This probably led to the use of the term "Belial" in the the King James Version, instead of expressing its meaning, which is "mischief, wickedness."
2:12 Knew not - They did not honour, love, or serve God.