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.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

6 What shall we say then? ^(A)Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who ^(B)died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that ^(C)as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus ^(D)were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were ^(E)buried with Him through baptism into death, that ^(F)just as Christ was raised from the dead by ^(G)the glory of the Father, ^(H)even so we also should walk in newness of life.

^5 (I)For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that ^(J)our old man was crucified with Him, that ^(K)the body of sin might be ^[a]done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For ^(L)he who has died has been ^[b]freed from sin. ⁸ Now ^(M)if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that ^(N)Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, ^(O)He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, ^(P)He lives to God. ¹¹ Likewise you also, ^[c]reckon yourselves to be ^(Q)dead indeed to sin, but ^(R)alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

^12 (S)Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. ¹³ And do not present your ^(T)members as ^[d]instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but ^(U)present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For ^(V)sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin ^(W)because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Do you not know that ^(X)to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? ¹⁷ But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart ^(Y)that form of doctrine to which you were ^[e]delivered. ¹⁸ And ^(Z)having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹ I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness ^[f]for holiness.

²⁰ For when you were ^(AA)slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ^21 (AB)What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For ^(AC)the end of those things is death. ²² But now ^(AD)having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit ^[g]to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. ²³ For ^(AE)the wages of sin is death, but ^(AF)the ^[h]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hannah’s Prayer^(A)

2 And Hannah ^(B)prayed and said:

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

The Wicked Sons of Eli

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^(AB)corrupt;^{[e] (AC)}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 ^(AD)Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before they ^(AE)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 ^(AF)before the Lord, for men ^(AG)abhorred^[f] the offering of the Lord.

Samuel’s Childhood Ministry

^18 (AH)But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, ^(AI)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 ^(AJ)came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ And Eli ^(AK)would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The Lord give you descendants from this woman for the ^[g]loan that was ^(AL)given to the Lord.” Then they would go to their own home.

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

Christ Born of Mary^(A)

2 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ^2 (B)This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³ So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to ^(C)the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, ^(D)because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, ^(E)his betrothed ^[a]wife, who was with child. ⁶ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷ And ^(F)she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a ^[b]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory in the Highest

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And ^[c]behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, ^(G)and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, ^(H)“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy ^(I)which will be to all people. ^11 (J)For there is born to you this day in the city of David ^(K)a Savior, ^(L)who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a ^[d]manger.”

^13 (M)And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made ^[f]widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ^19 (Q)But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and ^(R)praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Circumcision of Jesus

^21 (S)And when eight days were completed ^[g]for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called ^(T)Jesus, the name given by the angel ^(U)before He was conceived in the womb.