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
Elkanah and his Family at Shiloh
1There was a man named Elkanah, from the tribe of Ephraim, who lived in the town of Ramah in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham and grandson of Elihu, and belonged to the family of Tohu, a part of the clan of Zuph. 2Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. 3Every year Elkanah went from Ramah to worship and offer sacrifices to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD. 4Each time Elkanah offered his sacrifice, he would give one share of the meat to Peninnah and one share to each of her children. 5And even though he loved Hannah very much he would give her only one share, because#1.5 And… because; or To Hannah, however, he would give a special share, because he loved her very much, even though. the LORD had kept her from having children. 6Peninnah, her rival, would torment and humiliate her, because the LORD had kept her childless. 7This went on year after year; whenever they went to the house of the LORD, Peninnah would upset Hannah so much that she would cry and refuse to eat anything. 8Her husband Elkanah would ask her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won't you eat? Why are you always so sad? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?”
Hannah and Eli
9-10One day, after they had finished their meal in the house of the LORD at Shiloh, Hannah got up. She was deeply distressed, and she cried bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. Meanwhile, Eli the priest was sitting in his place by the door. 11#Num 6.5Hannah made a solemn promise: “Almighty LORD, look at me, your servant! See my trouble and remember me! Don't forget me! If you give me a son, I promise that I will dedicate him to you for his whole life and that he will never have his hair cut.”#1.11 never have his hair cut: A sign of dedication to the LORD (see Num 6.5).
12Hannah continued to pray to the LORD for a long time, and Eli watched her lips. 13She was praying silently; her lips were moving, but she made no sound. So Eli thought that she was drunk, 14and said to her, “Stop making a drunken show of yourself! Stop your drinking and sober up!”
15“No, I'm not drunk, sir,” she answered. “I haven't been drinking! I am desperate, and I have been praying, pouring out my troubles to the LORD. 16Don't think I am a worthless woman. I have been praying like this because I'm so miserable.”
17“Go in peace,” Eli said, “and may the God of Israel give you what you have asked him for.”
18“May you always think kindly of me,” she replied. Then she went away, ate some food, and was no longer sad.
Samuel's Birth and Dedication
19The next morning Elkanah and his family got up early, and after worshipping the LORD, they went back home to Ramah. Elkanah had intercourse with his wife Hannah, and the LORD answered her prayer. 20So it was that she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,#1.20 Samuel: This name, which in Hebrew means “name of God”, is here related to the Hebrew verb for “ask”. and explained, “I asked the LORD for him.”
21The time came again for Elkanah and his family to go to Shiloh and offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and the special sacrifice he had promised. 22But this time Hannah did not go. She told her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will take him to the house of the LORD, where he will stay all his life.”
23Elkanah answered, “All right, do whatever you think best; stay at home until you have weaned him. And may the LORD make your#1.23 Some ancient translations your; Hebrew his. promise come true.” So Hannah stayed at home and nursed her child.
24After she had weaned him, she took him to Shiloh, taking along a three-year-old bull,#1.24 Some ancient translations a three-year-old bull; Hebrew three bulls. ten kilogrammes of flour, and a leather bag full of wine. She took Samuel, young as he was, to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. 25After they had killed the bull, they took the child to Eli. 26Hannah said to him, “Excuse me, sir. Do you remember me? I am the woman you saw standing here, praying to the LORD. 27I asked him for this child, and he gave me what I asked for. 28So I am dedicating him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he will belong to the LORD.”
Then they#1.28 Some ancient translations they; Hebrew he. worshipped the LORD there.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.