^9–10One day, after they had finished their meal in the house of the Lord at Shiloh, Hannah got up. She was deeply distressed, and she cried bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. Meanwhile, Eli the priest was sitting in his place by the door. ¹¹^*Hannah made a solemn promise: “Almighty Lord, look at me, your servant! See my trouble and remember me! Don’t forget me! If you give me a son, I promise that I will dedicate him to you for his whole life and that he will never have his hair cut.”^b

¹²Hannah continued to pray to the Lord for a long time, and Eli watched her lips. ¹³She was praying silently; her lips were moving, but she made no sound. So Eli thought that she was drunk, ¹⁴and said to her, “Stop making a drunken show of yourself! Stop your drinking and sober up!”

¹⁵“No, I’m not drunk, sir,” she answered. “I haven’t been drinking! I am desperate, and I have been praying, pouring out my troubles to the Lord. ¹⁶Don’t think I am a worthless woman. I have been praying like this because I’m so miserable.”

¹⁷“Go in peace,” Eli said, “and may the God of Israel give you what you have asked him for.”

¹⁸“May you always think kindly of me,” she replied. Then she went away, ate some food, and was no longer sad.

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Footnotes

bnever have his hair cut: A sign of dedication to the Lord (see Num 6:5).

Cross references

*1.11: Nu 6:5