The Family of Elkanah

1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the ^(A)mountains of Ephraim, and his name was ^(B)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of ^[a]Elihu, the son of ^[b]Tohu, the son of Zuph, ^(C)an Ephraimite. ² And he had ^(D)two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ³ This man went up from his city ^(E)yearly ^(F)to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in ^(G)Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. ⁴ And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an ^(H)offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, ^(I)although the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶ And her rival also ^(J)provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷ So 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

⁸ Then 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 ^(K)better to you than ten sons?”

⁹ So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^(L)the ^[c]tabernacle of the Lord. ^10 (M)And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and ^[d]wept in anguish. ¹¹ Then she ^(N)made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed ^(O)look on the affliction of Your maidservant and ^(P)remember 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 ^(Q)no razor shall come upon his head.”

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

¹⁵ But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have ^(R)poured out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not consider your maidservant a ^(S)wicked^[e] woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”

¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, ^(T)“Go in peace, and ^(U)the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

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

Samuel Is Born and Dedicated

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

²¹ Now the man Elkanah and all his house ^(Z)went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will ^(AA)take him, that he may appear before the Lord and ^(AB)remain there ^(AC)forever.”

²³ So ^(AD)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord ^[g]establish ^[h]His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, she ^(AE)took him up with her, with ^[i]three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to ^(AF)the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. ²⁵ Then they slaughtered a bull, and ^(AG)brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “O my lord! ^(AH)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. ^27 (AI)For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. ²⁸ Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be ^[j]lent to the Lord.” So they ^(AJ)worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer^(AK)

2 And Hannah ^(AL)prayed and said:

¹¹ Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ^[n]ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Wicked Sons of Eli

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^(BL)corrupt;^{[o] (BM)}they did not know the Lord. ¹³ And 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. ¹⁴ Then 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 ^(BN)Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before they ^(BO)burned 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.”

¹⁶ And 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.”

¹⁷ Therefore the sin of the young men was very great ^(BP)before the Lord, for men ^(BQ)abhorred^[p] the offering of the Lord.

Samuel’s Childhood Ministry

^18 (BR)But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, ^(BS)wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹ Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she ^(BT)came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ And Eli ^(BU)would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The Lord give you descendants from this woman for the ^[q]loan that was ^(BV)given to the Lord.” Then they would go to their own home.

²¹ And the Lord ^(BW)visited^[r] Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel ^(BX)grew before the Lord.

Prophecy Against Eli’s Household

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

²⁶ And the child Samuel ^(CC)grew in stature, and ^(CD)in favor both with the Lord and men.

²⁷ Then a ^(CE)man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ^(CF)‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? ²⁸ Did I not ^(CG)choose 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 ^(CH)did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? ²⁹ Why do you ^(CI)kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My ^(CJ)dwelling place, and honor your sons more than ^(CK)Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’ ³⁰ Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: ^(CL)‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: ^(CM)‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and ^(CN)those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. ³¹ Behold, ^(CO)the days are coming that I will cut off your ^[u]arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be ^(CP)an old man in your house forever. ³³ But 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. ³⁴ Now this shall be ^(CQ)a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: ^(CR)in one day they shall die, both of them. ³⁵ Then ^(CS)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. ^(CT)I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before ^(CU)My anointed forever. ^36 (CV)And 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, ^[v]put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”

Lying to the Holy Spirit

5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. ² And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ^3 (A)But Peter said, “Ananias, why has ^(B)Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? ⁴ While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

⁵ Then Ananias, hearing these words, ^(C)fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. ⁶ And the young men arose and ^(D)wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.

⁷ Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?”

She said, “Yes, for so much.”

⁹ Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together ^(E)to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ^10 (F)Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. ^11 (G)So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

Continuing Power in the Church

¹² And ^(H)through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. ^(I)And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. ¹³ Yet ^(J)none of the rest dared join them, ^(K)but the people esteemed them highly. ¹⁴ And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, ¹⁵ so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, ^(L)that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. ¹⁶ Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing ^(M)sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

Imprisoned Apostles Freed

^17 (N)Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with ^[a]indignation, ^18 (O)and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. ¹⁹ But at night ^(P)an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people ^(Q)all the words of this life.”

²¹ And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. ^(R)But the high priest and those with him came and called the ^[b]council together, with all the ^[c]elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

Apostles on Trial Again

²² But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, ²³ saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing ^[d]outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” ²⁴ Now when ^[e]the high priest, ^(S)the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. ²⁵ So one came and told them, ^[f]saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”

²⁶ Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, ^(T)for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. ²⁷ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, ²⁸ saying, ^(U)“Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, ^(V)and intend to bring this Man’s ^(W)blood on us!”

²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ^(X)“We ought to obey God rather than men. ^30 (Y)The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by ^(Z)hanging on a tree. ^31 (AA)Him God has exalted to His right hand to be ^(AB)Prince and ^(AC)Savior, ^(AD)to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³² And ^(AE)we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit ^(AF)whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Gamaliel’s Advice

³³ When they heard this, they were ^(AG)furious^[g] and plotted to kill them. ³⁴ Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named ^(AH)Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. ³⁵ And he said to them: “Men of Israel, ^[h]take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. ³⁶ For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, ^[i]joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. ³⁷ After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. ³⁸ And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; ^39 (AI)but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found ^(AJ)to fight against God.”

⁴⁰ And they agreed with him, and when they had ^(AK)called for the apostles ^(AL)and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁴¹ So they departed from the presence of the council, ^(AM)rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for ^[j]His name. ⁴² And daily ^(AN)in the temple, and in every house, ^(AO)they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes

A Song of Ascents.