The Birth of Samuel

1 There was a certain man of ^(A)Ramathaim-zophim of ^(B)the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, ^(C)an Ephrathite. ² He had two wives. The name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³ Now this man used to go up ^(D)year by year from his city ^(E)to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts ^(F)at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. ⁴ On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, ^(G)he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.^{[a] 6} And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷ So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. ⁸ And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? ^(H)Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of ^(I)the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ She was ^(J)deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. ¹¹ And she ^(K)vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed ^(L)look on the affliction of your servant and ^(M)remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, ^(N)and no razor shall touch his head.”

¹² As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. ¹⁴ And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but ^(O)I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not regard your servant as ^(P)a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered, ^(Q)“Go in peace, and the God of Israel ^(R)grant your petition that you have made to him.” ¹⁸ And she said, ^(S)“Let your servant find favour in your eyes.” Then the woman ^(T)went on her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

¹⁹ They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at ^(U)Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord ^(V)remembered her. ²⁰ And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”^[b]

Samuel Given to the Lord

²¹ The man Elkanah and all his house ^(W)went up 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, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord ^(X)and dwell there for ever.” ^23 (Y)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; ^(Z)only, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴ And when she had weaned him, ^(AA)she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,^[c] an ephah^[d] of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to ^(AB)the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. ²⁵ Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “Oh, my lord! ^(AC)As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. ²⁷ For this child I prayed, ^(AD)and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. ²⁸ Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”

^(AE)And he worshipped the Lord there.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)a servant^[a] of Christ Jesus, ^(B)called to be an apostle, ^(C)set apart for the gospel of God, ² which ^(D)he promised beforehand ^(E)through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning his Son, ^(F)who was descended from David^{[b] (G)}according to the flesh ⁴ and ^(H)was declared to be the Son of God ^(I)in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom ^(J)we have received grace and ^(K)apostleship ^(L)to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name ^(M)among all the nations, ⁶ including you who are ^(N)called to belong to Jesus Christ,

⁷ To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

^(O)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Longing to Go to Rome

⁸ First, ^(P)I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, ^(Q)because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. ^9 (R)For God is my witness, ^(S)whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, ^(T)that without ceasing I mention you ¹⁰ always in my prayers, asking that somehow ^(U)by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For ^(V)I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— ¹² that is, that we may be mutually encouraged ^(W)by each other's faith, both yours and mine. ¹³ I want you to know, brothers,^[c] that ^(X)I have often intended to come to you (but ^(Y)thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some ^(Z)harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. ^14 (AA)I am under obligation both to Greeks and to ^(AB)barbarians,^[d] both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁶ For ^(AC)I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is ^(AD)the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew ^(AE)first and also to ^(AF)the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it ^(AG)the righteousness of God is revealed ^(AH)from faith for faith,^{[e] (AI)}as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”^[f]

God's Wrath on Unrighteousness

¹⁸ For ^(AJ)the wrath of God ^(AK)is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be ^(AL)known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, ^(AM)have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they ^(AN)became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ^22 (AO)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and ^(AP)exchanged the glory of ^(AQ)the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore ^(AR)God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to ^(AS)the dishonouring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for ^(AT)a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(AU)who is blessed for ever! Amen.

²⁶ For this reason ^(AV)God gave them up to ^(AW)dishonourable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, ^(AX)men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ^(AY)God gave them up to ^(AZ)a debased mind to do ^(BA)what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know ^(BB)God's decree that those who practise such things ^(BC)deserve to die, they not only do them but ^(BD)give approval to those who practise them.

Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern

38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, ^(A)Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(B)Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people, ² “Thus says the Lord: ^(C)He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^(D)but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. ³ Thus says the Lord: ^(E)This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” ⁴ Then the officials said to the king, ^(F)“Let this man be put to death, ^(G)for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking ^(H)the welfare of this people, but their harm.” ⁵ King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, ^(I)for the king can do nothing against you.” ⁶ So they took Jeremiah ^(J)and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in ^(K)the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down ^(L)by ropes. ^(M)And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and ^(N)Jeremiah sank in the mud.

Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern

⁷ When ^(O)Ebed-melech ^(P)the Ethiopian, ^(Q)a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting ^(R)in the Benjamin Gate— ^8 (S)Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of ^(T)hunger, ^(U)for there is no bread left in the city.” ¹⁰ Then the king commanded ^(V)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” ¹¹ So ^(W)Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern ^(X)by ropes. ¹² Then ^(Y)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and ^(Z)the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. ¹³ Then they drew Jeremiah up with ^(AA)ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the ^(AB)court of the guard.

Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again

¹⁴ King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” ¹⁵ Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” ¹⁶ Then King Zedekiah swore ^(AC)secretly to Jeremiah, ^(AD)“As the Lord lives, ^(AE)who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of ^(AF)these men who seek your life.”

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(AG)If you will surrender to ^(AH)the officials of the king of Babylon, ^(AI)then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. ¹⁸ But if you do not surrender to ^(AJ)the officials of the king of Babylon, ^(AK)then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, ^(AL)and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” ¹⁹ King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans ^(AM)who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” ²⁰ Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, ^(AN)and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. ²¹ But if you refuse to ^(AO)surrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: ²² Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

²³ All your wives and ^(AQ)your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”

²⁴ Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. ²⁵ If ^(AR)the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death’, ²⁶ then you shall say to them, ^(AS)‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” ²⁷ Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. ²⁸ And Jeremiah remained ^(AT)in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.