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Hannah’s Vow
1 There was a man from Ramathaim-zophim(A) in[a] the hill country of Ephraim.(B) His name was Elkanah(C) son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives,(D) the first named Hannah(E) and the second Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. 3 This man would go up from his town every year(F) to worship and to sacrifice(G) to the Lord of Hosts at Shiloh,(H) where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the Lord’s priests.
4 Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he always gave portions of the meat(I) to his wife Peninnah and to each of her sons and daughters. 5 But he gave a double[b] portion(J) to Hannah, for he loved her even though the Lord had kept her from conceiving. 6 Her rival would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving. 7 Whenever she went up to the Lord’s house,(K) her rival taunted her in this way every year. Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 “Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband Elkanah asked. “Why won’t you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than 10 sons?”(L)
9 Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh.[c] Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s tabernacle.(M) 10 Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears.(N) 11 Making a vow,(O) she pleaded, “Lord of Hosts, if You will take notice of Your servant’s affliction,(P) remember and not forget me, and give Your servant a son,[d] I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.”[e](Q)
12 While she continued praying in the Lord’s presence, Eli watched her lips. 13 Hannah was praying silently,[f](R) and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and scolded her, “How long are you going to be drunk?(S) Get rid of your wine!”
15 “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my heart before the Lord.(T) 16 Don’t think of me as a wicked woman;(U) I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.”(V)
17 Eli responded, “Go in peace,(W) and may the God of Israel grant the petition you’ve requested from Him.”(X)
18 “May your servant find favor with you,”(Y) she replied. Then Hannah went on her way; she ate and no longer looked despondent.[g](Z)
Samuel’s Birth and Dedication
19 The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to bow in worship before the Lord. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah.(AA) Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.(AB) 20 After some time,[h] Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[i] because she said, “I requested him from the Lord.”
21 When Elkanah and all his household went up to make the annual sacrifice(AC) and his vow offering to the Lord, 22 Hannah did not go and explained to her husband, “After the child is weaned, I’ll take him to appear in the Lord’s presence(AD) and to stay there permanently.”(AE)
23 Her husband Elkanah replied, “Do what you think is best,[j](AF) and stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord confirm your[k] word.”(AG) So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 When she had weaned him, she took him with her to Shiloh, as well as a three-year-old bull,[l] half a bushel[m] of flour, and a jar of wine.(AH) Though the boy was still young,[n] she took him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh.(AI) 25 Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.
26 “Please, my lord,” she said, “as sure as you live,(AJ) my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this boy,(AK) and since the Lord gave me what I asked Him for,(AL) 28 I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.”(AM) Then he[o] bowed in worship to the Lord there.[p]
Hannah’s Triumphant Prayer
2 Hannah prayed:(AN)
My heart rejoices in the Lord;(AO)
my horn is lifted up by the Lord.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
because I rejoice in Your salvation.(AP)
2 There is no one holy like the Lord.(AQ)
There is no one besides You!(AR)
And there is no rock like our God.(AS)
3 Do not boast so proudly,
or let arrogant words come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and actions are weighed by Him.(AT)
4 The bows of the warriors are broken,(AU)
but the feeble are clothed with strength.(AV)
5 Those who are full hire themselves out for food,
but those who are starving hunger no more.
The woman who is childless gives birth to seven,(AW)
but the woman with many sons pines away.(AX)
6 The Lord brings death and gives life;(AY)
He sends some to Sheol, and He raises others up.(AZ)
7 The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth;(BA)
He humbles and He exalts.(BB)
8 He raises the poor from the dust(BC)
and lifts the needy from the garbage pile.(BD)
He seats them with noblemen(BE)
and gives them a throne of honor.[q]
For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;(BF)
He has set the world on them.(BG)
9 He guards the steps[r] of His faithful ones,(BH)
but the wicked perish in darkness,(BI)
for a man does not prevail by his own strength.(BJ)
10 Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered;[s](BK)
He will thunder in the heavens against them.(BL)
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.(BM)
He will give power to His king;
He will lift up the horn of His anointed.(BN)
11 Elkanah went home to Ramah,(BO) but the boy served the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.(BP)
Eli’s Family Judged
12 Eli’s sons were wicked men;(BQ) they had no regard for the Lord(BR) 13 or for the priests’ share of the sacrifices from the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling 14 and plunge it into the container or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot.(BS) The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh. 15 Even before the fat was burned,(BT) the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he won’t accept boiled meat from you—only raw.” 16 If that man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself,”(BU) the servant would reply, “No, I insist that you hand it over right now. If you don’t, I’ll take it by force!” 17 So the servants’ sin was very severe in the presence of the Lord, because they treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.(BV)
18 The boy Samuel served in the Lord’s presence(BW) and wore a linen ephod.(BX) 19 Each year his mother made him a little robe(BY) and took it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.(BZ) 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife:(CA) “May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she[t] has given to the Lord.”(CB) Then they would go home.
21 The Lord paid attention to Hannah’s need,(CC) and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.(CD)
The Third Sign: Healing the Sick
5 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.(A) 2 By the Sheep Gate(B) in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda[a] in Hebrew, which has five colonnades.[b] 3 Within these lay a large number of the sick—blind, lame, and paralyzed [—waiting for the moving of the water, 4 because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had].[c]
5 One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time,(C) He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,”(D) the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.”
8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk!” 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.
Now that day was the Sabbath,(E) 10 so the Jews(F) said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath!(G) It’s illegal for you to pick up your mat.”
11 He replied, “The man who made me well(H) told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 “Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” they asked. 13 But the man who was cured did not know who it was,(I) because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.[d]
14 After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex(J) and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” 15 The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.(K)
Honoring the Father and the Son
16 Therefore, the Jews began persecuting(L) Jesus[e] because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.(M) 17 But Jesus responded to them, “My Father(N) is still working, and I am working also.” 18 This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill Him:(O) Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
19 Then Jesus replied, “I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father[f] does, the Son also does these things in the same way.(P) 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing, and He will show Him greater works(Q) than these so that you will be amazed. 21 And just as the Father raises(R) the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to anyone He wants to.(S) 22 The Father,(T) in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father.(U) Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.(V)
37 Then He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and no one among His tribes stumbled.(A)
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
for the dread of Israel[a] had fallen on them.(B)
39 He spread a cloud as a covering
and gave a fire to light up the night.(C)
40 They asked, and He brought quail
and satisfied them with bread from heaven.(D)
41 He opened a rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed like a stream in the desert.(E)
42 For He remembered His holy promise
to Abraham His servant.(F)
43 He brought His people out with rejoicing,
His chosen ones with shouts of joy.(G)
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they inherited
what other peoples had worked for.(H)
45 All this happened
so that they might keep His statutes
and obey His instructions.(I)
Hallelujah!
28 A large population is a king’s splendor,
but a shortage of people is a ruler’s devastation.
29 A patient person shows great understanding,(A)
but a quick-tempered one promotes foolishness.
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