Proverbs 3 vs. 1 Samuel 2

The sons of Eli were evil men, and when compared to the wisdom of Proverbs 3, it's not hard to see exactly how they missed the mark. The following table lines up a proverb with the negative example in the life of Hophni and Phinehas (or Eli).

Proverbs 3	1 Samuel 2
1. My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,	25. If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death.
2. for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.	32. Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.
3. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.	12. Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD.
4. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.	33. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men.
5. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.	13. The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand,
6. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.	16. And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.”
7. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.	29. Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’
8. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.	34. And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day.
9. Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;	15. Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.”
10. then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.	36. And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”
11. My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof,	17. Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.
12. for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.	30. Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.