1 Samuel 1–28

Hannah’s Vow

1There was a man from Ramathaim-zophim ^ain ^bthe hill country of Ephraim. ^cHis name was Elkanah ^dson of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ²He had two wives, ^ethe first named Hannah ^fand the second Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. ³This man would go up from his town every year ^gto worship and to sacrifice ^hto the Lord of Hosts at Shiloh, ⁱwhere Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the Lord’s priests.

⁴Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he always gave portions of the meat ^jto his wife Peninnah and to each of her sons and daughters. ⁵But he gave a double ^kportion ^lto 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. ⁷Whenever she went up to the Lord’s house, ^mher rival taunted her in this way every year. Hannah wept and would not eat. ⁸“Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband Elkanah asked. “Why won’t you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than 10 sons?” ⁿ

⁹Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh. ^oEli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s tabernacle. ^p10Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears. ^q11Making a vow, ^rshe pleaded, “Lord of Hosts, if You will take notice of Your servant’s affliction, ^sremember and not forget me, and give Your servant a son, ^tI will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.” ^uv

¹²While she continued praying in the Lord’s presence, Eli watched her lips. ¹³Hannah was praying silently, ^wxand though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴and scolded her, “How long are you going to be drunk? ^yGet 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. ^z16Don’t think of me as a wicked woman; ^aI’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.” ^b

¹⁷Eli responded, “Go in peace, ^cand may the God of Israel grant the petition you’ve requested from Him.” ^d

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

Samuel’s Birth and Dedication

¹⁹The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to bow in worship before the Lord. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah. ^hThen Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ⁱ²⁰After some time, ^jHannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, ^kbecause she said, “I requested him from the Lord.”

²¹When Elkanah and all his household went up to make the annual sacrifice ^land 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 ^mand to stay there permanently.” ⁿ

²³Her husband Elkanah replied, “Do what you think is best, ^opand stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord confirm your ^qword.” ^rSo 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, ^shalf a bushel ^tof flour, and a jar of wine. ^uThough the boy was still young, ^vshe took him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh. ^w25Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.

²⁶“Please, my lord,” she said, “as sure as you live, ^xmy lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷I prayed for this boy, ^yand since the Lord gave me what I asked Him for, ^z28I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” ^aThen he ^bbowed in worship to the Lord there. ^c

Hannah’s Triumphant Prayer

2Hannah prayed: ^d

My heart rejoices in the Lord; ^e

my horn is lifted up by the Lord.

My mouth boasts over my enemies,

because I rejoice in Your salvation. ^f

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

There is no one besides You! ^h

And there is no rock like our God. ⁱ

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. ^j

⁴The bows of the warriors are broken, ^k

but the feeble are clothed with strength. ^l

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, ^m

but the woman with many sons pines away. ⁿ

⁶The Lord brings death and gives life; ^o

He sends some to Sheol, and He raises others up. ^p

⁷The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth; ^q

He humbles and He exalts. ^r

⁸He raises the poor from the dust ^s

and lifts the needy from the garbage pile. ^t

He seats them with noblemen ^u

and gives them a throne of honor. ^v

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

He has set the world on them. ^x

⁹He guards the steps ^yof His faithful ones, ^z

but the wicked perish in darkness, ^a

for a man does not prevail by his own strength. ^b

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

He will thunder in the heavens against them. ^e

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

He will give power to His king;

He will lift up the horn of His anointed. ^g

¹¹Elkanah went home to Ramah, ^hbut the boy served the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest. ⁱ

Eli’s Family Judged

¹²Eli’s sons were wicked men; ^jthey had no regard for the Lord ^k13or for the priests’ share of the sacrifices from the people. When any man 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 or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. ^lThe 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, ^mthe priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he won’t accept boiled meat from you—only raw.” ¹⁶If that man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself,” ⁿthe 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 they treated the Lord’s offering with contempt. ^o

¹⁸The boy Samuel served in the Lord’s presence ^pand wore a linen ephod. ^q19Each year his mother made him a little robe ^rand took it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. ^s20Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife: ^t“May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she ^uhas given to the Lord.” ^vThen they would go home.

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

²²Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel ^yand how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ^z23He said to them, “Why are you doing these things? I have heard about your evil actions from all these people. ²⁴No, my sons, the report I hear from the Lord’s people is not good. ²⁵If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him, but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” ^aBut they would not listen to their father, since the Lord intended to kill them. ^b26By contrast, the boy Samuel grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men. ^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 ancestral house when it was in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh’s palace? ^e28Out of all the tribes of Israel, I selected your house ^fto be priests, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. ^gI also gave your house all the Israelite fire offerings. ²⁹Why, then, do all of you despise My sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship? ^hYou have honored your sons more than Me, ⁱby 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:

‘Although I said

your family and your ancestral house

would walk before Me forever, ^j

the Lord now says, “No longer!”

I will honor those who honor Me, ^k

but those who despise Me will be disgraced. ^l

³¹“ ‘Look, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestral family, so that none in your family will reach old age. ^m32You will see distress in the place of worship, ⁿin spite of all that is good in Israel, and no one in your family will ever again reach old age. ^o33Any man from your family I do not cut off from My altar will bring grief ^pand sadness to you. All your descendants will die violently. ^qr34This will be the sign that will come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: ^sboth of them will die on the same day. ^t

³⁵“ ‘Then I will raise up a faithful priest ^ufor Myself. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him, ^vand he will walk before My anointed one for all time. ^w36Anyone 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. ^xIn those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread. ^y

²One day Eli, whose eyesight was failing, ^zwas lying in his room. ³Before the lamp of God had gone out, ^aSamuel was lying down in the tabernacle of the Lord, where the ark of God was located.

⁴Then the Lord called Samuel, ^band he answered, “Here I am.” ⁵He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

“I didn’t call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

⁶Once…