1 Samuel 1–28

The Family of Elkanah

1Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the ^amountains of Ephraim, and his name was ^bElkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of ¹Elihu, the son of ²Tohu, the son of Zuph, ^can Ephraimite. ²And he had ^dtwo wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ³This man went up from his city ^eyearly ^fto worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in ^gShiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. ⁴And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an ^hoffering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, ⁱalthough the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶And her rival also ^jprovoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.

Hannah’s Vow

⁸Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not ^kbetter to you than ten sons?”

⁹So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^lthe ³tabernacle of the Lord. ^10mAnd she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and ⁴wept in anguish. ¹¹Then she ⁿmade a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed ^olook on the affliction of Your maidservant and ^premember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and ^qno razor shall come upon his head.”

¹²And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. ¹³Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”

¹⁵But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have ^rpoured out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶Do not consider your maidservant a ^swicked ⁵woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”

¹⁷Then Eli answered and said, ^t“Go in peace, and ^uthe God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

¹⁸And she said, ^v“Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman ^wwent her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Samuel is Born and Dedicated

¹⁹Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah ^xknew Hannah his wife, and the Lord ^yremembered her. ²⁰So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name ⁶Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

²¹Now the man Elkanah and all his house ^zwent up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. ²²But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will ^atake him, that he may appear before the Lord and ^bremain there ^cforever.”

²³So ^dElkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord ⁷establish ⁸His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴Now when she had weaned him, she ^etook him up with her, with ⁹three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to ^fthe house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. ²⁵Then they slaughtered a bull, and ^gbrought the child to Eli. ²⁶And she said, “O my lord! ^hAs your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. ²⁷ⁱFor this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. ²⁸Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be ¹lent to the Lord.” So they ^jworshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2And Hannah ^aprayed and said:

^b“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

^cMy ¹horn is exalted in the Lord.

²I smile at my enemies,

Because I ^drejoice in Your salvation.

²“No ^eone is holy like the Lord,

For there is ^fnone besides You,

Nor is there any ^grock like our God.

³“Talk no more so very proudly;

^hLet no arrogance come from your mouth,

For the Lord is the God of ⁱknowledge;

And by Him actions are weighed.

⁴“The ^jbows of the mighty men are broken,

And those who stumbled are girded with strength.

⁵Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,

And the hungry have ceased to hunger.

Even ^kthe barren has borne seven,

And ^lshe who has many children has become feeble.

⁶“The ^mLord kills and makes alive;

He brings down to the grave and brings up.

⁷The Lord ⁿmakes poor and makes rich;

^oHe brings low and lifts up.

^8pHe raises the poor from the dust

And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,

^qTo set them among princes

And make them inherit the throne of glory.

^r“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,

And He has set the world upon them.

^9sHe will guard the feet of His saints,

But the ^twicked shall be silent in darkness.

“For by strength no man shall prevail.

¹⁰The adversaries of the Lord shall be ^ubroken in pieces;

^vFrom heaven He will thunder against them.

^wThe Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

^x“He will give ^ystrength to His king,

And ^zexalt the ³horn of His anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ⁴ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Wicked Sons of Eli

¹²Now the sons of Eli were ^acorrupt; ^5bthey did not know the Lord. ¹³And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. ¹⁴Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in ^cShiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵Also, before they ^dburned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.”

¹⁶And if the man said to him, “They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.”

¹⁷Therefore the sin of the young men was very great ^ebefore the Lord, for men ^fabhorred ⁶the offering of the Lord.

Samuel’s Childhood Ministry

^18gBut Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, ^hwearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she ⁱcame up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰And Eli ^jwould bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The Lord give you descendants from this woman for the ⁷loan that was ^kgiven to the Lord.” Then they would go to their own home.

²¹And the Lord ^lvisited ⁸Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel ^mgrew before the Lord.

Prophecy Against Eli’s Household

²²Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, ⁹and how they lay with ⁿthe women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ²³So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. ²⁴No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress. ²⁵If one man sins against another, ^oGod ¹will judge him. But if a man ^psins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, ^qbecause the Lord desired to kill them.

²⁶And the child Samuel ^rgrew in stature, and ^sin favor both with the Lord and men.

²⁷Then a ^tman of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ^u‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? ²⁸Did I not ^vchoose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And ^wdid I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? ²⁹Why do you ^xkick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My ^ydwelling place, and honor your sons more than ^zMe, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’ ³⁰Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: ^a‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: ^b‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and ^cthose who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. ³¹Behold, ^dthe days are coming that I will cut off your ²arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³²And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be ^ean old man in your house forever. ³³But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. ³⁴Now this shall be ^fa sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: ^gin one day they shall die, both of them. ³⁵Then ^hI will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. ⁱI will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before ^jMy anointed forever. ^36kAnd it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please, ³put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”

Samuel’s First Prophecy

3Now ^athe boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And ^bthe word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. ²…