1 Samuel 1–28

HANNAH’S VOW

1There was a man from Ramathaim-zophim^a in^A the hill country of Ephraim.^b His name was Elkanah^c son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ²He had two wives,^d the first named Hannah^e and the second Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. ³This man would go up from his town every year^f to worship and to sacrifice^g to the Lord of Armies at Shiloh,^h where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the Lord’s priests.

⁴Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he always gave portions of the meatⁱ to his wife Peninnah and to each of her sons and daughters. ⁵But he gave a double^B portion^j to Hannah, for he loved her even though the Lord had kept her from conceiving. ⁶Her rival would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving. ⁷Year after year, when she went up to the Lord’s house,^k her rival taunted her in this way. Hannah would weep and would not eat. ⁸“Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband, Elkanah, would ask. “Why won’t you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”^l

⁹On one occasion, Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh.^C The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple.^{m 10}Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears.^{n 11}Making a vow,^o she pleaded, “Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction,^p remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.”^Dq

¹²While she continued praying in the Lord’s presence, Eli watched her mouth. ¹³Hannah was praying silently,^r and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴and said to her, “How long are you going to be drunk?^s Get rid of your wine!”

¹⁵“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my heart before the Lord.^{t 16}Don’t think of me as a wicked woman;^u I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.”^v

¹⁷Eli responded, “Go in peace,^w and may the God of Israel grant the request you’ve made of him.”^x

¹⁸“May your servant find favor with you,”^y she replied. Then Hannah went on her way; she ate and no longer looked despondent.^Ez

SAMUEL’S BIRTH AND DEDICATION

¹⁹The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to worship before the Lord. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah.^aa Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.^{ab 20}After some time,^A Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,^B because she said, “I requested him from the Lord.”

²¹When Elkanah and all his household went up to make the annual sacrifice^ac and his vow offering to the Lord, ²²Hannah did not go and explained to her husband, “After the child is weaned, I’ll take him to appear in the Lord’s presence^ad and to stay there permanently.”^ae

²³Her husband, Elkanah, replied, “Do what you think is best,^af and stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord confirm your^C word.”^ag So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴When she had weaned him, she took him with her to Shiloh, as well as a three-year-old bull,^D half a bushel^E of flour, and a clay jar of wine.^ah Though the boy was still young,^F she took him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh.^{ai 25}Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.

²⁶“Please, my lord,” she said, “as surely as you live,^aj my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷I prayed for this boy,^ak and since the Lord gave me what I asked him for,^{a 28}I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.”^b Then he^G worshiped the Lord there.^H

HANNAH’S TRIUMPHANT PRAYER

2Hannah prayed:^c

My heart rejoices in the Lord;^d

my horn is lifted up by the Lord.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

because I rejoice in your salvation.^e

²There is no one holy like the Lord.^f

There is no one besides you!^g

And there is no rock like our God.^h

³Do not boast so proudly,

or let arrogant words come out of your mouth,

for the Lord is a God of knowledge,

and actions are weighed by him.ⁱ

⁴The bows of the warriors are broken,^j

but the feeble are clothed with strength.^k

⁵Those who are full hire themselves out for food,

but those who are starving hunger no more.

The woman who is childless gives birth to seven,^l

but the woman with many sons pines away.^m

⁶The Lord brings death and gives life;ⁿ

he sends some down to Sheol, and he raises others up.^o

⁷The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth;^p

he humbles and he exalts.^q

⁸He raises the poor from the dust^r and lifts the needy from the trash heap.^s

He seats them with noblemen^t

and gives them a throne of honor.^A

For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;^u

he has set the world on them.^v

⁹He guards the steps^B of his faithful ones,^w

but the wicked perish in darkness,^x

for a person does not prevail by his own strength.^y

¹⁰Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered;^Cz

he will thunder in the heavens against them.^aa

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.^ab

He will give power to his king;

he will lift up the horn of his anointed.^Dac

¹¹Elkanah went home to Ramah,^ad but the boy served the Lord in the presence of the priest Eli.^ae

ELI’S FAMILY JUDGED

¹²Eli’s sons were wicked men;^af they did not respect the Lord^{ag 13}or the priests’ share of the sacrifices from the people. When anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling ¹⁴and plunge it into the container, kettle, cauldron, or cooking pot.^ah The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh. ¹⁵Even before the fat was burned,^ai the priest’s servant would come and say to the one who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he won’t accept boiled meat from you—only raw.” ¹⁶If that person said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself,”^aj the servant would reply, “No, I insist that you hand it over right now. If you don’t, I’ll take it by force!” ¹⁷So the servants’ sin was very severe in the presence of the Lord, because the men treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.^ak

¹⁸Samuel served in the Lord’s presence^al—this mere boy was dressed in the linen ephod.^{am 19}Each year his mother made him a little robe^an and took it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.^{ao 20}Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife:^ap “May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she^E has given to the Lord.”^aq Then they would go home.

²¹The Lord paid attention to Hannah’s need,^ar and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.^as

²²Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel^at and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^{au 23}He said to them, “Why are you doing these things? I have heard about your evil actions from all these people. ²⁴No, my sons, the news I hear the Lord’s people spreading is not good. ²⁵If one person sins against another, God can intercede for him, but if a person sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?”^a But they would not listen to their father, since the Lord intended to kill them.^{b 26}By contrast, the boy Samuel grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.^c

²⁷A man of God came to Eli and said to him,^d “This is what the Lord says: ‘Didn’t I reveal myself to your forefather’s family^A when they were in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh’s palace?^{e 28}Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose your house^B to be my priests, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence.^f I also gave your forefather’s family all the Israelite food offerings. ²⁹Why, then, do all of you despise my sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship?^g You have honored your sons more than me,^h by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of my people Israel.’

³⁰“Therefore, this is the declaration of the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I did say that your family and your forefather’s family would walk before me forever.ⁱ But now,’ this is the Lord’s declaration, ‘no longer! For those who honor me I will honor,^j but those who despise me will be disgraced.^{k 31}Look, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your forefather’s family, so that none in your family will reach old age.^{l 32}You will see distress in the place of worship,^m in spite of all that is good in Israel, and no one in your family will ever again reach old age.^{n 33}Any man from your family I do not cut off from my altar will bring grief^C and sadness to you. All your descendants will die violently.^{DE 34}This will be the sign that will come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas:^o both of them will die on the same day.^p

³⁵“ ‘Then I will raise up a faithful priest^q for myself. He will do whatever is in my heart and mind. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him,^r and he will walk before my anointed one for all time.^{s 36}Anyone who is left in your family will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread. He will say: Please appoint me to some priestly office so I can have a piece of bread to eat.’ ”

SAMUEL’S CALL

3The boy Samuel served the Lord in Eli’s presence.^t In those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread.^u

²One day Eli, whose eyesight was failing,^v was lying in his usual place. ³Before the lamp of God had gone out,^w Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was located.

⁴Then the Lord called Samuel,^F and he answered, “Here I am.” ⁵He ran to…