1 *Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of amount Ephraim, and his name was bElkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, can Ephrathite: 2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but dHannah had no children. 3 And this man went up out of his city e†yearly fto worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in gShiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. 4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, hhe gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: 5 But unto Hannah he gave ||a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the Lord had shut up her womb. 6 And her adversary also †provoked her sore, ifor to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. 7 And as he did so year by year, ||when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. 8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I jbetter to thee than ten sons?

9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in gShiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of kthe temple of the Lord. 10 And she was l†in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. 11 And she mvowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed nlook on the affliction of thine handmaid, and oremember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid †a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and pthere shall no rasor come upon his head. 12 And it came to pass, as she †continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. 13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. 15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman †of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have qpoured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of rBelial: for out of the abundance of my ||complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. 17 Then Eli answered and said, sGo in peace: and tthe God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. 18 And she said, uLet thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman xwent her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. 19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to yRamah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and zthe Lord remembered her. 20 Wherefore it came to pass, †when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name ||Samuel, asaying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.

21 And the man Elkanah, and all his house, bwent up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. 22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and there abide cfor ever. 23 And dElkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; eonly the Lord establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, she ftook him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the Lord in gShiloh: and the child was young. 25 And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, Oh my lord, has thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed; and the Lord ihath given me my petition which I asked of him: 28 kTherefore also I have ||lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth ||he shall be lent to the Lord. And he lworshipped the Lord there.

2 And Hannah prayed, and said,

aMy heart rejoiceth in the Lord,

bMine horn is exalted in the Lord:

My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies;

Because I crejoice in thy salvation.

2  dThere is none holy as the Lord:

For there is enone beside thee:

Neither is there any frock like our God.

3  Talk no more so exceeding proudly;

gLet not †arrogancy come out of your mouth:

For the Lord is a God of knowledge,

And by him actions are weighed.

4  hThe bows of the mighty men are broken,

And they that stumbled are girded with strength.

5  iThey that were full have hired out themselves for bread;

And they that were hungry ceased:

So that kthe barren hath born seven;

And lshe that hath many children is waxed feeble.

6  mThe Lord killeth, and maketh alive:

He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

7  The Lord nmaketh poor, and maketh rich:

oHe bringeth low, and lifteth up.

8  pHe raiseth up the poor out of the dust,

And lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill,

qTo set them among princes,

And to make them inherit the throne of glory:

For rthe pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,

And he hath set the world upon them.

9  sHe will keep the feet of his saints,

And the wicked shall be silent in darkness;

For by strength shall no man prevail.

10  The adversaries of the Lord shall be tbroken to pieces;

uOut of heaven shall he thunder upon them:

wThe Lord shall judge the ends of the earth;

And he shall give strength unto his king,

And xexalt the horn of his anointed.

11 And Elkanah went to yRamah to his house. zAnd the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.

12 Now the sons of Eli were asons of Belial; bthey knew not the Lord. 13 And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; 14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; call that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. 15 Also before they dburnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. 16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat †presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. 17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great ebefore the Lord: for men fabhorred the offering of the Lord.

18 But gSamuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, hgirded with a linen ephod. 19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him ifrom year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 And Eli kblessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the ||loan which is lent to the Lord. And they went unto their own home. 21 And the Lord lvisited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel mgrew before the Lord. 22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons ndid unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that †assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for ||I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. 24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord’s people ||to transgress. 25 If one man sin against another, othe judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, pbecause the Lord would slay them. 26 And the child Samuel qgrew on, and was rin favour both with the Lord, and also with men.

27 sAnd there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, tDid I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? 28 And did I uchoose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wwear an ephod before me? and xdid I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? 29 Wherefore ykick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my zhabitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? 30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, aI said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, bBe it far from me; for them that honour me cI will honour, and dthey that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, ethe days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 32 And thou shalt see ||an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be fan old man in thine house for ever. 33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die †in the flower of their age. 34 And this shall be ga sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; hin one day they shall die both of them. 35 And iI will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and kI will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before lmine anointed for ever. 36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and ma morsel of bread, and shall say, †Put me, I pray thee, into ||one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.

3 And athe child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And bthe word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 2 And it…