1 Samuel 1
1
The Birth of Samuel
1Now there was a certain man of Ramatha´im–zo´phim, of mount E´phra-im, and his name was Elka´nah, the son of Jero´ham, the son of Eli´hu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Eph´rathite: 2and he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Penin´nah: and Penin´nah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phin´ehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. 4And when the time was that Elka´nah offered, he gave to Penin´nah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: 5but unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the Lord had shut up her womb. 6And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. 7And 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. 8Then said Elka´nah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
9So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. 10And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. 11#Num 6.5. And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember 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 there shall no razor come upon his head.
12And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. 13Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 14And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. 15And 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 poured out my soul before the Lord. 16Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Be´li-al: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. 17Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. 18And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
19And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elka´nah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her. 20Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.
21And the man Elka´nah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. 22But 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 for ever. 23And Elka´nah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the Lord establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him. 24And when she had weaned him, she took 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 Shiloh: and the child was young. 25And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. 26And she said, O my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. 27For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: 28therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
1 Samuel 1
1
Hannah Asks the Lord for a Child
1Elkanah lived in Ramah,#1.1 Ramah: The Hebrew has “Ramathaim,” a longer form of “Ramah” (see verse 19). a town in the hill country of Ephraim. His great-great-grandfather was Zuph, so Elkanah was a member of the Zuph clan of the Ephraim tribe. Elkanah's father was Jeroham, his grandfather was Elihu, and his great-grandfather was Tohu.
2Elkanah had two wives,#1.2 two wives: Having more than one wife was allowed in those times. Hannah and Peninnah. Although Peninnah had children, Hannah did not have any.
3Once a year Elkanah traveled from his hometown to Shiloh, where he worshiped the Lord All-Powerful and offered sacrifices. Eli was the Lord's priest there, and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas served with him as priests.#1.3 Eli … priests: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, served the Lord as priests.”
4Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he gave some of the meat#1.4 meat: For some sacrifices, like this one, only part of the meat was burned. Some was given to the priest, and the rest was eaten by the family and guests of the worshiper (see Leviticus 3.1-17; 7.11-18). to Peninnah and some to each of her sons and daughters. 5But he gave Hannah even more, because#1.5 even more, because: One ancient translation; Hebrew “only one; he.” he loved Hannah very much, even though the Lord had kept her from having children of her own.
6Peninnah liked to make Hannah feel miserable about not having any children, 7especially when the family went to the house of the Lord#1.7 house of the Lord: Another name for the place of worship at Shiloh, which still may have been the sacred tent at this time. each year.
One day, Elkanah was there offering a sacrifice, when Hannah began crying and refused to eat. 8So Elkanah asked, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won't you eat? Why do you feel so bad? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?”
9When the sacrifice had been offered, and they had eaten the meal, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli was sitting in his chair near the door to the place of worship. 10Hannah was heartbroken and was crying as she prayed, 11#Nu 6.5. “Lord All-Powerful, I am your servant, but I am so miserable! Please let me have a son. I promise to give him to you for as long as he lives, and his hair will never be cut.”#1.11 his hair … cut: Never cutting the child's hair would be a sign that he would belong to the Lord (see Numbers 6.1,21, especially verse 5).
12-13Hannah prayed silently to the Lord for a long time. But her lips were moving, and Eli thought she was drunk. 14“How long are you going to stay drunk?” he asked. “Sober up!”
15-16“Sir, please don't think I'm no good!” Hannah answered. “I'm not drunk, and I haven't been drinking. But I do feel miserable and terribly upset. I've been praying all this time, telling the Lord about my problems.”
17Eli replied, “Go home. Everything will be fine. The God of Israel will answer your prayer.”
18“Sir, thank you for being so kind to me,” Hannah said. Then she left, and after eating something, she felt much better.
Samuel Is Born
19Elkanah and his family got up early the next morning and worshiped the Lord. Then they went back home to Ramah. Later the Lord blessed Elkanah and Hannah 20with a son. She named him Samuel because she had asked the Lord for him.#1.20 him: In Hebrew “Samuel” sounds something like “Someone from God” or “The name of God” or “His name is God.”
Hannah Gives Samuel to the Lord
21The next time Elkanah and his family went to offer their yearly sacrifice, he took along a gift that he had promised to give to the Lord. 22But Hannah stayed home, because she had told Elkanah, “Samuel and I won't go until he's old enough for me to stop nursing him. Then I'll give him to the Lord, and he can stay there at Shiloh for the rest of his life.”
23“You know what's best,” Elkanah said. “Stay here until it's time to stop nursing him. I'm sure the Lord will help you do what you have promised.”#1.23 the Lord … promised: The Dead Sea Scrolls and two ancient translations; the Standard Hebrew Text “the Lord will do what he said.” Hannah did not go to Shiloh until she stopped nursing Samuel.
24-25When it was the time of year to go to Shiloh again, Hannah and Elkanah#1.24,25 When it was the time of year to go to Shiloh again, Hannah and Elkanah: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text “she.” took Samuel to the Lord's house. They brought along a three-year-old bull,#1.24,25 a three-year-old bull: The Dead Sea Scrolls and two ancient translations; the Standard Hebrew Text “three bulls.” a sack containing about nine kilograms of flour, and a clay jar full of wine. Hannah and Elkanah offered the bull as a sacrifice, then brought the little boy to Eli.
26“Sir,” Hannah said, “a few years ago I stood here beside you and asked the Lord 27to give me a child. Here he is! The Lord gave me just what I asked for. 28Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will be the Lord's servant for as long as he lives.”
Hannah Prays
Elkanah#1.28 Elkanah: Or “They” or “Samuel.” worshiped the Lord there at Shiloh, and
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.