1 Samuel 1:1-2:11

English Standard Version

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. ²He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³Now 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. ⁴On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, ^(G)he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.^[a] ⁶And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷So 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. ⁸And 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?”

⁹After 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. ¹⁰She was ^(J)deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. ¹¹And 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.”

¹²As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. ¹⁴And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” ¹⁵But 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. ¹⁶Do not regard your servant as ^(P)a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” ¹⁷Then Eli answered, ^(Q)“Go in peace, and the God of Israel ^(R)grant your petition that you have made to him.” ¹⁸And she said, ^(S)“Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman ^(T)went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

¹⁹They rose early in the morning and worshiped 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. ²⁰And 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

²¹The man Elkanah and all his house ^(W)went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. ²²But 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 forever.” 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. ²⁴And 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. ²⁵Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. ²⁶And 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. ²⁷For this child I prayed, ^(AD)and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. ²⁸Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”

^(AE)And he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah's Prayer

2 And Hannah prayed and said,

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

²^(AI)“There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is ^(AJ)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^(AK)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.
^(AL)The barren has borne seven,
    ^(AM)but she who has many children is forlorn.
⁶^(AN)The Lord kills and brings to life;
    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
⁷^(AO)The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
    ^(AP)he brings low and he exalts.
⁸^(AQ)He raises up the poor from the dust;
    he lifts the needy from the ash heap
^(AR)to make them sit with princes
    and inherit a seat of honor.
^(AS)For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
    and on them he has set the world.

⁹^(AT)“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^(AU)The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
    ^(AV)against them he will thunder in heaven.
^(AW)The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
    he will give strength to his king
    ^(AX)and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

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

Footnotes

1 Samuel 1:5 Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. Septuagint And, although he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion, because the Lord had closed her womb
1 Samuel 1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard of God
1 Samuel 1:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text three bulls
1 Samuel 1:24 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
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

Proverbs 5:1-6:19

English Standard Version

Warning Against Adultery

5 ^(A)My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
    ^(B)incline your ear to my understanding,
²that you may keep ^(C)discretion,
    and your lips may ^(D)guard knowledge.
³For the lips of ^(E)a forbidden^[a] woman drip honey,
    and her speech^[b] is ^(F)smoother than oil,
⁴but in the end she is ^(G)bitter as ^(H)wormwood,
    ^(I)sharp as ^(J)a two-edged sword.
⁵Her feet ^(K)go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to^[c] Sheol;
⁶she ^(L)does not ponder the path of life;
    her ways wander, and she does not know it.

⁷And ^(M)now, O sons, listen to me,
    and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
⁸Keep your way far from her,
    and do not go near the door of her house,
⁹lest you give your honor to others
    and your years to the merciless,
¹⁰lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
    and your ^(N)labors go to the house of a foreigner,
¹¹and at the end of your life you ^(O)groan,
    when your flesh and body are consumed,
¹²and you say, ^(P)“How I hated discipline,
    and my heart ^(Q)despised reproof!
¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
    or incline my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴^(R)I am at the brink of utter ruin
    in the assembled congregation.”

¹⁵Drink ^(S)water from your own cistern,
    flowing water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your ^(T)springs be scattered abroad,
    streams of water ^(U)in the streets?
¹⁷^(V)Let them be for yourself alone,
    and not for strangers with you.
¹⁸Let your ^(W)fountain be blessed,
    and ^(X)rejoice in ^(Y)the wife of your youth,
¹⁹    a lovely ^(Z)deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts ^(AA)fill you at all times with delight;
    be intoxicated^[d] always in her love.
²⁰Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with ^(AB)a forbidden woman
    and embrace the bosom of ^(AC)an adulteress?^[e]
²¹For ^(AD)a man's ways are ^(AE)before the eyes of the Lord,
    and he ^(AF)ponders^[f] all his paths.
²²The ^(AG)iniquities of the wicked ^(AH)ensnare him,
    and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
²³^(AI)He dies for lack of discipline,
    and because of his great folly he is ^(AJ)led astray.

Practical Warnings

6 My son, if you have put up ^(AK)security for your neighbor,
    have ^(AL)given your pledge for a stranger,
²if you are ^(AM)snared in the words of your mouth,
    caught in the words of your mouth,
³then do this, my son, and save yourself,
    for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
    go, hasten,^[g] and ^(AN)plead urgently with your neighbor.
⁴^(AO)Give your eyes no sleep
    and your eyelids no slumber;
⁵save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,^[h]
    ^(AP)like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶^(AQ)Go to ^(AR)the ant, O ^(AS)sluggard;
    consider her ways, and ^(AT)be wise.
⁷^(AU)Without having any chief,
    ^(AV)officer, or ruler,
⁸she prepares her bread ^(AW)in summer
    and ^(AX)gathers her food in harvest.
⁹^(AY)How long will you lie there, ^(AZ)O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
¹⁰^(BA)A little sleep, a little slumber,
    ^(BB)a little ^(BC)folding of the hands to rest,
¹¹^(BD)and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

¹²^(BE)A worthless person, a wicked man,
    goes about with ^(BF)crooked speech,
¹³^(BG)winks with his eyes, signals^[i] with his feet,
    points with his finger,
¹⁴with ^(BH)perverted heart ^(BI)devises evil,
    continually ^(BJ)sowing discord;
¹⁵therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
    ^(BK)in a moment he will be broken ^(BL)beyond healing.

¹⁶There are ^(BM)six things that the Lord hates,
    ^(BN)seven that are an abomination to him:
¹⁷^(BO)haughty eyes, ^(BP)a lying tongue,
    and ^(BQ)hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸^(BR)a heart that devises wicked plans,
    ^(BS)feet that make haste to run to evil,
¹⁹^(BT)a false witness who ^(BU)breathes out lies,
    and one who ^(BV)sows discord among brothers.