1 Samuel 1:1–20

Elkanah and His Wives

¹Now there was a certain man from ^aRamathaim-zophim from the ^bhill country of Ephraim, and his name was ^cElkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

²Now he had ^atwo wives: the name of one was ^bHannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³Now that man would go up from his city ^ayearly ^bto worship and to sacrifice to ¹Yahweh of hosts in ^cShiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to Yahweh there.

⁴And the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, and he ^awould give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters;

⁵but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, ^abut Yahweh had closed her womb.

⁶Her rival, however, ^awould provoke her bitterly to irritate her because Yahweh had closed her womb.

⁷And so it would happen year after year, as often as she went up to the house of Yahweh, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat.

⁸Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? ^aAm I not better to you than ten sons?”

⁹Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^athe temple of Yahweh.

¹⁰And she, bitter of soul, prayed to Yahweh and wept despondently.

¹¹And she ^amade a vow and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, if You will indeed ^blook on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a seed amongst men, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and ^ca razor shall never come on his head.”

¹²Now it happened, as she multiplied her praying before Yahweh, that Eli was watching her mouth.

¹³As for Hannah, ^ashe was speaking in her heart; only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴Then Eli said to her, “^aHow long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.”

¹⁵But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman ¹oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I ^ahave poured out my soul before Yahweh.

¹⁶“Do not ¹consider your maidservant as a vile woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great complaint and ²provocation.”

¹⁷Then Eli answered and said, “^aGo in peace; and may the God of Israel ^bgrant your petition that you have asked of Him.”

¹⁸And she said, “^aLet your servant-woman find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and ^bher face was no longer sad.

The Birth of Samuel

¹⁹Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh and turned back and came to their house in ^aRamah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and ^bYahweh remembered her.

²⁰Now it happened ¹in due time that Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “^aBecause I have asked him of Yahweh.”