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There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of the hill country of Ephraim, named Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

This man went from his city year by year to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were the Lord’s priests.

When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give to Peninnah his wife and all her sons and daughters portions [of the sacrificial meat].

But to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had given her no children.

[This embarrassed and grieved Hannah] and her rival provoked her greatly to vex her, because the Lord had left her childless.

So it was year after year; whenever Hannah went up to the Lord’s house, Peninnah provoked her, so she wept and did not eat.

Then Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do you cry? And why do you not eat? And why are you grieving? Am I not more to you than ten sons?

So Hannah rose after they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat beside a post of the temple (tent) of the Lord.

10 And [Hannah] was in distress of soul, praying to the Lord and weeping bitterly.

11 She vowed, saying, O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid and [earnestly] remember, and not forget Your handmaid but will give me a son, I will give him to the Lord all his life; no razor shall touch his head.

12 And as she continued praying before the Lord, Eli noticed her mouth.

13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

14 Eli said to her, How long will you be intoxicated? Put wine away from you.

15 But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul before the Lord.(A)

16 Regard not your handmaid as a wicked woman; for out of my great complaint and bitter provocation I have been speaking.

17 Then Eli said, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.

18 Hannah said, Let your handmaid find grace in your sight. So [she] went her way and ate, her countenance no longer sad.

19 The family rose early the next morning, worshiped before the Lord, and returned to their home in Ramah. Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.

20 Hannah became pregnant and in due time bore a son and named him Samuel [heard of God], Because, she said, I have asked him of the Lord.

21 And Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow.

22 But Hannah did not go, for she said to her husband, I will not go until the child is weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there as long as he lives.

23 Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seems best to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only may the Lord establish His word. So Hannah remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.

24 When she had [a]weaned him, she took him with her, with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin bottle of wine [to pour over the burnt offering for a sweet odor], and brought Samuel to the Lord’s house in Shiloh. The child was growing.

25 Then they slew the bull, and brought the child to Eli.

26 Hannah said, Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here praying to the Lord.

27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted my petition made to Him.

28 Therefore I have given him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is given to the Lord. And they worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exults and triumphs in the Lord; my horn (my strength) is lifted up in the Lord. My mouth is no longer silent, for it is opened wide over my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.

There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides You; there is no Rock like our God.

Talk no more so very proudly; let not arrogance go forth from your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.

The bows of the mighty are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength.

Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children languishes and is forlorn.

The Lord slays and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and He lifts up.

He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with nobles and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He has set the world upon them.

He will guard the feet of His godly ones, but the wicked shall be silenced and perish in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them will He thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge [all peoples] to the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to [b]His king (King) and exalt the power of His anointed (Anointed [c]His Christ).(B)

11 Elkanah and his wife Hannah returned to Ramah to his house. But the child ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

12 The sons of Eli were base and worthless; they did not know or regard the Lord.

13 And the custom of the priests with the people was this: when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came while the flesh was boiling with a fleshhook of three prongs in his hand;

14 And he thrust it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh with all the Israelites who came there.

15 Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant came and said to the man who sacrificed, Give the priest meat to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but raw.

16 And if the man said to him, Let them burn the fat first, and then you may take as much as you want, the priest’s servant would say, No! Give it to me now or I will take it by force.

17 So the sin of the [two] young men was very great before the Lord, for they despised the offering of the Lord.

18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, a child girded with a linen ephod.

19 Moreover, his mother made him a little robe and brought it to him from year to year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20 And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, May the Lord give you children by this woman for the gift she asked for and gave to the Lord. Then they would go to their own home.

21 And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

22 Now Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel and how they lay with the women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

23 And 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; it is no good report which I hear the Lord’s people spreading abroad.

25 If one man wrongs another, God will mediate for him; but if a man wrongs the Lord, who shall intercede for him? Yet they did not listen to their father, for it was the Lord’s will to slay them.

26 Now the boy Samuel grew and was in favor both with the Lord and with men.

27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, Thus has the Lord said: I plainly revealed Myself to the house of your father [forefather Aaron] when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house.

28 Moreover, I selected him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer on My altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before Me. And I gave [from then on] to the house of your father [forefather] all the offerings of the Israelites made by fire.

29 Why then do you kick [trample upon, treat with contempt] My sacrifice and My offering which I commanded, and honor your sons above Me by fattening yourselves upon the choicest part of every offering of My people Israel?

30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, I did promise that your house and that of your father [forefather Aaron] should go in and out before Me forever. But now the Lord says, Be it far from Me. For those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

31 Behold, the time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your own father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in your house.

32 And you shall behold the distress of My house, even in all the prosperity which God will give Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.

33 Yet I will not cut off from My altar every man of yours; some shall survive to weep and mourn [over the family’s ruin], but all the increase of your house shall die in their best years.(C)

34 And what befalls your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be a sign to you—in one day they both shall die. [Fulfilled in I Sam. 4:17, 18.]

35 And I will raise up for Myself a [d]faithful priest (Priest), who shall do according to what is in My heart and mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed (Anointed) forever.(D)

36 Everyone who is left in your house shall come crouching to him for a piece of silver and a bit of bread and say, Put me, I pray you, into a priest’s office so I may have a piece of bread.

Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; there was no frequent or widely spread vision.

At that time Eli, whose eyesight had dimmed so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.

The lamp of God had not yet gone out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was lying down

When the Lord called, Samuel! And he answered, Here I am.

He ran to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. Eli said, I did not call you; lie down again. So he went and lay down.

And the Lord called again, Samuel! And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here am I; you did call me. Eli answered, I did not call, my son; lie down again.

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord was not yet revealed to him.

And the Lord called Samuel the third time. And he went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you did call me. Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.

So Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down. And if He calls you, you shall say, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 And the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, Samuel! Samuel! Then Samuel answered, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.

11 The Lord told Samuel, Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of all who hear it shall tingle.

12 On that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

13 And I [now] announce to him that I will judge and punish his house forever for the iniquity of which he knew, for his sons were bringing a curse upon themselves [blaspheming God], and he did not restrain them.

14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for or purged with sacrifice or offering forever.

15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. And [he] was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

16 But Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here I am.

17 Eli said, What is it He told you? Pray do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that He said to you.

18 And Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing. And Eli said, It is the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him.

19 Samuel grew; the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.(E)

20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.

21 And the Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh through the word of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 1:24 He would then be two or three years old. There were women engaged in tabernacle service to whose care he might have been committed. It was important that he should be dedicated as soon as possible. The earliest impressions of his boyhood were to be those of the house of God (The Cambridge Bible).
  2. 1 Samuel 2:10 Hannah’s prophetic prayer was but partially fulfilled in the king soon to be anointed by her son as the deliverer of Israel; it reaches forward to... the King Messiah, in Whom alone the lofty anticipations of the prophetess are to be completely realized (The Cambridge Bible).
  3. 1 Samuel 2:10 Both The Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) and The Latin Vulgate read “His Christ” (Luke 2:26).
  4. 1 Samuel 2:35 This person is not identified, but this prophecy found its fulfillment from the standpoint of historical exposition in Samuel (J.P. Lange, A Commentary). Christian writers usually adopt also the Messianic interpretation. The text does not allow an exclusive reference to Christ, since it does look plainly to the then existing order of things; however, it also points to Christ as the consummation of the blessedness which it promises.

The Birth of Samuel

There was a certain man from Ramathaim,(A) a Zuphite[a](B) from the hill country(C) of Ephraim,(D) whose name was Elkanah(E) son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives;(F) one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

Year after year(G) this man went up from his town to worship(H) and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh,(I) where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli,(J) were priests of the Lord. Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice,(K) he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.(L) But to Hannah he gave a double portion(M) because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.(N) Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.(O) This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.(P) Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?(Q)

Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house.(R) 10 In her deep anguish(S) Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow,(T) saying, “Lord Almighty(U), if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember(V) me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life,(W) and no razor(X) will ever be used on his head.”

12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled.(Y) I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring(Z) out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”(AA)

17 Eli answered, “Go in peace,(AB) and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.(AC)

18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.(AD)” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.(AE)

19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah.(AF) Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered(AG) her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.(AH) She named(AI) him Samuel,[b](AJ) saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

Hannah Dedicates Samuel

21 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual(AK) sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow,(AL) 22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present(AM) him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”[c]

23 “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good(AN) his[d] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned(AO) him.

24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,[e](AP) an ephah[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed(AQ) for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life(AR) he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

Then Hannah prayed and said:(AS)

“My heart rejoices(AT) in the Lord;
    in the Lord my horn[g](AU) is lifted high.
My mouth boasts(AV) over my enemies,(AW)
    for I delight in your deliverance.

“There is no one holy(AX) like(AY) the Lord;
    there is no one besides you;
    there is no Rock(AZ) like our God.

“Do not keep talking so proudly
    or let your mouth speak such arrogance,(BA)
for the Lord is a God who knows,(BB)
    and by him deeds(BC) are weighed.(BD)

“The bows of the warriors are broken,(BE)
    but those who stumbled are armed with strength.(BF)
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
    but those who were hungry(BG) are hungry no more.
She who was barren(BH) has borne seven children,
    but she who has had many sons pines away.

“The Lord brings death and makes alive;(BI)
    he brings down to the grave and raises up.(BJ)
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;(BK)
    he humbles and he exalts.(BL)
He raises(BM) the poor(BN) from the dust(BO)
    and lifts the needy(BP) from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.(BQ)

“For the foundations(BR) of the earth are the Lord’s;
    on them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet(BS) of his faithful servants,(BT)
    but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.(BU)

“It is not by strength(BV) that one prevails;
10     those who oppose the Lord will be broken.(BW)
The Most High will thunder(BX) from heaven;
    the Lord will judge(BY) the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength(BZ) to his king
    and exalt the horn(CA) of his anointed.”

11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah,(CB) but the boy ministered(CC) before the Lord under Eli the priest.

Eli’s Wicked Sons

12 Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard(CD) for the Lord. 13 Now it was the practice(CE) of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat(CF) was being boiled 14 and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15 But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

16 If the person said to him, “Let the fat(CG) be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”

17 This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they[h] were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.(CH)

18 But Samuel was ministering(CI) before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.(CJ) 19 Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual(CK) sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed(CL) for and gave to[i] the Lord.” Then they would go home. 21 And the Lord was gracious to Hannah;(CM) she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew(CN) up in the presence of the Lord.

22 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything(CO) his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women(CP) who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. 24 No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. 25 If one person sins against another, God[j] may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will(CQ) intercede(CR) for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.

26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow(CS) in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.(CT)

Prophecy Against the House of Eli

27 Now a man of God(CU) came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? 28 I chose(CV) your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense,(CW) and to wear an ephod(CX) in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings(CY) presented by the Israelites. 29 Why do you[k] scorn my sacrifice and offering(CZ) that I prescribed for my dwelling?(DA) Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’

30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.(DB)’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor,(DC) but those who despise(DD) me will be disdained.(DE) 31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age,(DF) 32 and you will see distress(DG) in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age.(DH) 33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants(DI) will die in the prime of life.

34 “‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign(DJ) to you—they will both die(DK) on the same day.(DL) 35 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest,(DM) who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed(DN) one always. 36 Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead,(DO) “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.(DP)”’”

The Lord Calls Samuel

The boy Samuel ministered(DQ) before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare;(DR) there were not many visions.(DS)

One night Eli, whose eyes(DT) were becoming so weak that he could barely see,(DU) was lying down in his usual place. The lamp(DV) of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house(DW) of the Lord, where the ark(DX) of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.(DY) And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

Now Samuel did not yet know(DZ) the Lord: The word(EA) of the Lord had not yet been revealed(EB) to him.

A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!(EC)

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.(ED) 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything(EE) I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,[l] and he failed to restrain(EF) them. 14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned(EG) for by sacrifice or offering.’”

15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”

Samuel answered, “Here I am.”

17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide(EH) it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely,(EI) if you hide from me anything he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”(EJ)

19 The Lord was with(EK) Samuel as he grew(EL) up, and he let none(EM) of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba(EN) recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.(EO) 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed(EP) himself to Samuel through his word.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 1:1 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 6:26-27,33-35; or from Ramathaim Zuphim.
  2. 1 Samuel 1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard by God.
  3. 1 Samuel 1:22 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls always. I have dedicated him as a Nazirite—all the days of his life.”
  4. 1 Samuel 1:23 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac your
  5. 1 Samuel 1:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; Masoretic Text with three bulls
  6. 1 Samuel 1:24 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  7. 1 Samuel 2:1 Horn here symbolizes strength; also in verse 10.
  8. 1 Samuel 2:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text people
  9. 1 Samuel 2:20 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text and asked from
  10. 1 Samuel 2:25 Or the judges
  11. 1 Samuel 2:29 The Hebrew is plural.
  12. 1 Samuel 3:13 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text sons made themselves contemptible