1 Samuel 2:1-21

English Standard Version

Hannah's Prayer

2 And Hannah prayed and said,

^(A)“My heart exults in the Lord;
^(B)my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because ^(C)I rejoice in your salvation.

²^(D)“There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is ^(E)no rock like our God.
³Talk no more so very proudly,
    let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.
⁴^(F)The bows of the mighty are broken,
    but the feeble bind on strength.
⁵Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
    but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
^(G)The barren has borne seven,
    ^(H)but she who has many children is forlorn.
⁶^(I)The Lord kills and brings to life;
    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
⁷^(J)The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
    ^(K)he brings low and he exalts.
⁸^(L)He raises up the poor from the dust;
    he lifts the needy from the ash heap
^(M)to make them sit with princes
    and inherit a seat of honor.
^(N)For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
    and on them he has set the world.

⁹^(O)“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
    but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
    for not by might shall a man prevail.
¹⁰^(P)The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
    ^(Q)against them he will thunder in heaven.
^(R)The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
    he will give strength to his king
    ^(S)and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went home ^(T)to Ramah. ^(U)And the boy^[a] was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

Eli's Worthless Sons

¹²Now the sons of Eli were ^(V)worthless men. ^(W)They did not know the Lord. ¹³The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, ¹⁴and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵Moreover, ^(X)before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” ¹⁶And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷Thus the sin of the young men was very great ^(Y)in the sight of the Lord, ^(Z)for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

¹⁸^(AA)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy ^(AB)clothed with a linen ephod. ¹⁹And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year ^(AC)when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman ^(AD)for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.

²¹^(AE)Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. ^(AF)And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.

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Footnotes

1 Samuel 2:11 Hebrew na‘ar can be rendered boy (2:11, 18, 21, 26; 3:1, 8), servant (2:13, 15), or young man (2:17), depending on the context

Psalm 56:8-13

English Standard Version

⁸You have kept count of my tossings;^[a]
    ^(A)put my tears in your bottle.
    ^(B)Are they not in your book?
⁹Then my enemies will turn back
    ^(C)in the day when I call.
    This I know, that^[b] ^(D)God is for me.
¹⁰In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
¹¹in God I trust; ^(E)I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?

¹²I must perform my ^(F)vows to you, O God;
    I will ^(G)render thank offerings to you.
¹³^(H)For you have delivered my soul from death,
    yes, my feet from falling,
^(I)that I may walk before God
    ^(J)in the light of life.

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Footnotes

Psalm 56:8 Or wanderings
Psalm 56:9 Or because

John 1:1-8

English Standard Version

The Word Became Flesh

1 ^(A)In the beginning was ^(B)the Word, and ^(C)the Word was with God, and ^(D)the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³^(E)All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴^(F)In him was life,^[a] and ^(G)the life was the light of men. ⁵^(H)The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶There was a man ^(I)sent from God, whose name was ^(J)John. ⁷He came as a ^(K)witness, to bear witness about the light, ^(L)that all might believe through him. ⁸^(M)He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.