The Daily Audio Bible

1 There was a man from Ramatayim-Tzofim, in the hills of Efrayim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Yerocham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tochu, the son of Tzuf, from Efrat. ² He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other P’ninah. P’ninah had children, but Hannah had no children. ³ This man went up from his city every year to worship and sacrifice to Adonai-Tzva’ot in Shiloh. The two sons of ‘Eli, Hofni and Pinchas, were cohanim of Adonai there.

⁴ One day, when Elkanah was sacrificing, he gave a portion of the sacrifice to his wife P’ninah and portions to each of her sons and daughters; ⁵ but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved Hannah, even though Adonai had kept her from having children. ⁶ Her rival taunted her and made her feel bad, because Adonai had kept her from having children. ⁷ He did the same every year; and each time she went up to the house of Adonai, she taunted her so much that she would cry and not eat. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying, and why aren’t you eating? Why be so sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” ⁹ So Hannah got up after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. ‘Eli the cohen was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the temple of Adonai. ¹⁰ In deep depression she prayed to Adonai and cried. ¹¹ Then she took a vow; she said, “Adonai-Tzva’ot, if you will notice how humiliated your servant is, if you will remember me and not forget your servant but will give your servant a male child, then I will give him to Adonai for as long as he lives; and no razor will ever come on his head.” ¹² She prayed for a long time before Adonai; and as she did so, ‘Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was speaking in her heart — her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard — so ‘Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ ‘Eli said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Stop drinking your wine!” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a very unhappy woman. I have not drunk either wine or other strong liquor; rather, I’ve been pouring out my soul before Adonai. ¹⁶ Don’t think of your servant as a worthless woman; because I have been speaking from the depth of my distress and anger.” ¹⁷ Then ‘Eli replied, “Go in peace. May the God of Isra’el grant what you have asked of him.” ¹⁸ She replied, “May your servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way, and she ate, and her face was no longer sad. ¹⁹ They got up early in the morning and worshipped before Adonai, then returned and came to their house in Ramah.

Elkanah had sexual relations with Hannah his wife, and Adonai remembered her. ²⁰ She conceived; and in due time she gave birth to a son, whom she named Sh’mu’el, “because I asked Adonai for him.”

²¹ The husband, Elkanah, went up with all his household to offer the yearly sacrifice to Adonai and fulfill his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, explaining to her husband, “Not till the child has been weaned. Then I will bring him, so that he can appear before Adonai and live there forever.” ²³ Her husband Elkanah answered her, “Do what seems good to you; stay here until you have weaned him. Only may Adonai bring about what he said.” So the woman stayed behind and nursed the child, until she weaned him. ²⁴ After weaning him, she took him up with her, along with three young bulls, a bushel of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of Adonai in Shiloh, even though he was just a child. ²⁵ After the bull had been slaughtered, the child was brought to ‘Eli; ²⁶ and she said, “My lord, as sure as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here near you, praying to Adonai. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and Adonai has granted the request I asked of him. ²⁸ Therefore, I too have loaned him to Adonai — as long as he lives, he is on loan to Adonai.” And he prostrated himself there before Adonai.

¹¹ Elkanah went home to Ramah, while the child began ministering to Adonai under the direction of ‘Eli the cohen.

¹² ‘Eli’s sons were scoundrels who had no regard for Adonai. ¹³ The rule these cohanim followed in dealing with the people was that when anyone offered a sacrifice, the cohen’s servant would come, while the meat was stewing, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ He would stick it in the pan, kettle, caldron or pot; and the cohen would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they dealt with all the people of Isra’el who came there to Shiloh. ¹⁵ The cohen’s servant would actually come before the fat had burned to smoke and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the cohen meat he can roast; because he doesn’t want your meat stewed, but raw.” ¹⁶ If the man answered, “First let the fat burn to smoke, then take as much as you want,” he would say, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” ¹⁷ The sin of these young men was very serious in Adonai’s view, because they treated offerings made to Adonai with contempt.

¹⁸ But Sh’mu’el ministered in the presence of Adonai, wearing a linen ritual vest even though he was only a child. ¹⁹ Each year his mother would make him a little coat and bring it when she came up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. ²⁰ ‘Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May Adonai give you children from this woman because of the boy you have loaned to Adonai”; then they would go home. ²¹ So Adonai took notice of Hannah, and she conceived and bore three more sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Sh’mu’el grew in the presence of Adonai.

5 After this, there was a Judean festival; and Yeshua went up to Yerushalayim. ² In Yerushalayim, by the Sheep Gate, is a pool called in Aramaic, Beit-Zata, ³ in which lay a crowd of invalids — blind, lame, crippled. ^{4 [a] 5} One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. ⁶ Yeshua, seeing this man and knowing that he had been there a long time, said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” ⁷ The sick man answered, “I have no one to put me in the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I’m trying to get there, someone goes in ahead of me.” ⁸ Yeshua said to him, “Get up, pick up your mat and walk!” ⁹ Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and walked.

Now that day was Shabbat, ¹⁰ so the Judeans said to the man who had been healed, “It’s Shabbat! It’s against Torah for you to carry your mat!” ¹¹ But he answered them, “The man who healed me — he’s the one who told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” ¹² They asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick it up and walk?” ¹³ But the man who had been healed didn’t know who it was, because Yeshua had slipped away into the crowd.

¹⁴ Afterwards Yeshua found him in the Temple court and said to him, “See, you are well! Now stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you!” ¹⁵ The man went off and told the Judeans it was Yeshua who had healed him; ¹⁶ and on account of this, the Judeans began harassing Yeshua because he did these things on Shabbat.

¹⁷ But he answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I too am working.” ¹⁸ This answer made the Judeans all the more intent on killing him — not only was he breaking Shabbat; but also, by saying that God was his own Father, he was claiming equality with God. ¹⁹ Therefore, Yeshua said this to them: “Yes, indeed! I tell you that the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; whatever the Father does, the Son does too. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does; and he will show him even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed. ²¹ Just as the Father raises the dead and makes them alive, so too the Son makes alive anyone he wants. ²² The Father does not judge anyone but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever fails to honor the Son is not honoring the Father who sent him.