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1 Samuel 1
New American Standard Bible

Elkanah and His Wives

1 Now there was a man from (A)Ramathaim-zophim from the (B)hill country of Ephraim, and his name was (C)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 And he had (D)two wives: the name of one was (E)Hannah and the name of the [a]other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 Now this man would go up from his city (F)yearly (G)to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of armies in (H)Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there. 4 When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he (I)would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; 5 but to Hannah he would give a double portion, because he loved Hannah, (J)but the Lord had closed her womb. 6 Her rival, moreover, (K)would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 And it happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, that she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why is your heart sad? (L)Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

9 Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of (M)the [b]temple of the Lord. 10 She, [c]greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she (N)made a vow and said, “Lord of armies, if You will indeed (O)look on the affliction of Your bond-servant and remember me, and not forget Your bond-servant, but will give Your bond-servant a [d]son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and (P)a razor shall never come on his head.”

12 Now it came about, as she [e]continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. 13 As for Hannah, (Q)she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were quivering, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought that she was drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, “(R)How long will you behave like a drunk? Get rid of your wine!” 15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman [f]despairing in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I (S)have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not [g]consider your bond-servant a useless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “(T)Go in peace; and may the God of Israel (U)grant your request that you have asked of Him.” 18 She said, “(V)Let your bond-servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way and ate, and (W)her face was no longer sad.

Samuel Is Born to Hannah

19 Then they got up early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in (X)Ramah. And Elkanah [h]had relations with Hannah his wife, and (Y)the Lord remembered her. 20 It came about [i]in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “(Z)Because I have asked for him of the Lord.”

21 Then the man Elkanah (AA)went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go until the child is weaned; then I will (AB)bring him, so that he may appear before the Lord and (AC)stay there for life.” 23 (AD)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do [j]what seems best to you. Stay until you have weaned him; only (AE)may the Lord confirm His word.” So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 Now when she had weaned him, (AF)she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull, one ephah of flour, and a jug of wine, and brought him to (AG)the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. 25 Then (AH)they [k]slaughtered the bull, and (AI)brought the boy to Eli. 26 And she said, “Pardon me, my lord! (AJ)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. 27 (AK)For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my request which I asked of Him. 28 (AL)So I have also [l]dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is [m]dedicated to the Lord.” And (AM)he worshiped the Lord there.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 1:2 Or second
  2. 1 Samuel 1:9 I.e., tabernacle
  3. 1 Samuel 1:10 Lit bitter of soul
  4. 1 Samuel 1:11 Lit seed of men
  5. 1 Samuel 1:12 Lit multiplied
  6. 1 Samuel 1:15 Lit hard
  7. 1 Samuel 1:16 Lit give
  8. 1 Samuel 1:19 Lit knew Hannah
  9. 1 Samuel 1:20 Lit at the circuit of the days
  10. 1 Samuel 1:23 Lit the good in your eyes
  11. 1 Samuel 1:25 I.e., for sacrifice
  12. 1 Samuel 1:28 Or lent
  13. 1 Samuel 1:28 Or lent
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1 Samuel 1
Christian Standard Bible

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 Armies 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 Year after year, when she went up to the Lord’s house,(K) her rival taunted her in this way. Hannah would weep and would not eat. 8 “Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband, Elkanah, would ask. “Why won’t you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than ten sons?” (L)

9 On one occasion, Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh.[c] The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple.(M) 10 Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears.(N) 11 Making a vow,(O) she pleaded, “Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction,(P) remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.”[d](Q)

12 While she continued praying in the Lord’s presence, Eli watched her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying silently,(R) and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to 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 request you’ve made of 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.[e](Z)

Samuel’s Birth and Dedication

19 The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to 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,[f] Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[g] 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,(AF) and stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord confirm your[h] 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,[i] half a bushel[j] of flour, and a clay jar of wine.(AH) Though the boy was still young,[k] 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 surely 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[l] worshiped the Lord there.[m]

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Or from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from
  2. 1:5 Or gave only one; Hb obscure
  3. 1:9 LXX adds and presented herself before the Lord
  4. 1:11 Lit and no razor will go up on his head
  5. 1:18 Lit and her face was not to her again
  6. 1:20 Lit In the turning of the days
  7. 1:20 In Hb, the name Samuel sounds like the phrase “requested from God.”
  8. 1:23 DSS, LXX, Syr; MT reads his
  9. 1:24 DSS, LXX, Syr; MT reads Shiloh with three bulls
  10. 1:24 Lit bull and an ephah
  11. 1:24 Lit And the youth was a youth
  12. 1:28 DSS read she; some Hb mss, Syr, Vg read they
  13. 1:28 LXX reads Then she left him there before the Lord
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