The Family of Elkanah

1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the ^(A)mountains of Ephraim, and his name was ^(B)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of ^[a]Elihu, the son of ^[b]Tohu, the son of Zuph, ^(C)an Ephraimite. ² And he had ^(D)two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ³ This man went up from his city ^(E)yearly ^(F)to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in ^(G)Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. ⁴ And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an ^(H)offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, ^(I)although the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶ And her rival also ^(J)provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷ So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.

Hannah’s Vow

⁸ Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not ^(K)better to you than ten sons?”

⁹ So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^(L)the ^[c]tabernacle of the Lord. ^10 (M)And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and ^[d]wept in anguish. ¹¹ Then she ^(N)made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed ^(O)look on the affliction of Your maidservant and ^(P)remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and ^(Q)no razor shall come upon his head.”

¹² And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. ¹³ Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”

¹⁵ But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have ^(R)poured out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not consider your maidservant a ^(S)wicked^[e] woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”

¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, ^(T)“Go in peace, and ^(U)the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

¹⁸ And she said, ^(V)“Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman ^(W)went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Samuel Is Born and Dedicated

¹⁹ Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah ^(X)knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord ^(Y)remembered her. ²⁰ So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name ^[f]Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

²¹ Now the man Elkanah and all his house ^(Z)went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will ^(AA)take him, that he may appear before the Lord and ^(AB)remain there ^(AC)forever.”

²³ So ^(AD)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord ^[g]establish ^[h]His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, she ^(AE)took him up with her, with ^[i]three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to ^(AF)the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. ²⁵ Then they slaughtered a bull, and ^(AG)brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “O my lord! ^(AH)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. ^27 (AI)For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. ²⁸ Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be ^[j]lent to the Lord.” So they ^(AJ)worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer^(AK)

2 And Hannah ^(AL)prayed and said:

¹¹ Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ^[n]ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Wicked Sons of Eli

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^(BL)corrupt;^{[o] (BM)}they did not know the Lord. ¹³ And the priests’ custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling. ¹⁴ Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in ^(BN)Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before they ^(BO)burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.”

¹⁶ And if the man said to him, “They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.”

¹⁷ Therefore the sin of the young men was very great ^(BP)before the Lord, for men ^(BQ)abhorred^[p] the offering of the Lord.

Samuel’s Childhood Ministry

^18 (BR)But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, ^(BS)wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹ Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she ^(BT)came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ And Eli ^(BU)would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The Lord give you descendants from this woman for the ^[q]loan that was ^(BV)given to the Lord.” Then they would go to their own home.

²¹ And the Lord ^(BW)visited^[r] Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel ^(BX)grew before the Lord.

Prophecy Against Eli’s Household

²² Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, ^[s]and how they lay with ^(BY)the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ²³ So 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! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress. ²⁵ If one man sins against another, ^(BZ)God^[t] will judge him. But if a man ^(CA)sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, ^(CB)because the Lord desired to kill them.

²⁶ And the child Samuel ^(CC)grew in stature, and ^(CD)in favor both with the Lord and men.

²⁷ Then a ^(CE)man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ^(CF)‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? ²⁸ Did I not ^(CG)choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And ^(CH)did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? ²⁹ Why do you ^(CI)kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My ^(CJ)dwelling place, and honor your sons more than ^(CK)Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’ ³⁰ Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: ^(CL)‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: ^(CM)‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and ^(CN)those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. ³¹ Behold, ^(CO)the days are coming that I will cut off your ^[u]arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be ^(CP)an old man in your house forever. ³³ But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. ³⁴ Now this shall be ^(CQ)a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: ^(CR)in one day they shall die, both of them. ³⁵ Then ^(CS)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. ^(CT)I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before ^(CU)My anointed forever. ^36 (CV)And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please, ^[v]put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”

Samuel’s First Prophecy

3 Now ^(CW)the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And ^(CX)the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. ² And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow ^(CY)so dim that he could not see, ³ and before ^(CZ)the lamp of God went out in the ^[w]tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, ⁴ that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” ⁵ So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

⁶ Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!”

So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷ (Now Samuel ^(DA)did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)

⁸ And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.”

Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. ⁹ Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ^(DB)‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel ^(DC)at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² In that day I will perform against Eli ^(DD)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ^13 (DE)For I have told him that I will ^(DF)judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because ^(DG)his sons made themselves vile, and he ^(DH)did not ^[x]restrain them. ¹⁴ And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house ^(DI)shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵ So Samuel lay down until ^[y]morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. ¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”

He answered, “Here I am.”

¹⁷ And he said, “What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. ^(DJ)God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” ¹⁸ Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, ^(DK)“It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”

¹⁹ So Samuel ^(DL)grew, and ^(DM)the Lord was with him ^(DN)and let none of his words ^[z]fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel ^(DO)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been ^[aa]established as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by ^(DP)the word of the Lord.

Beware of Hypocrisy^(A)

12 In ^(B)the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, ^(C)“Beware of the ^[a]leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ^2 (D)For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. ³ Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

Jesus Teaches the Fear of God^(E)

^4 (F)“And I say to you, ^(G)My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, ^(H)fear Him!

⁶ “Are not five sparrows sold for two ^[b]copper coins? And ^(I)not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Confess Christ Before Men^(J)

^8 (K)“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me ^(L)before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. ⁹ But he who ^(M)denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

¹⁰ “And ^(N)anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

^11 (O)“Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. ¹² For the Holy Spirit will ^(P)teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ But He said to him, ^(Q)“Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And He said to them, ^(R)“Take heed and beware of ^[c]covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

¹⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. ¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, ^(S)“Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; ^(T)eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night ^(U)your soul will be required of you; ^(V)then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

²¹ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, ^(W)and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Worry^(X)

²² Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, ^(Y)do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and ^(Z)God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁶ If you then are not able to do the least, why ^[d]are you anxious for the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even ^(AA)Solomon in all his glory was not ^[e]arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of ^(AB)little faith?

²⁹ “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father ^(AC)knows that you need these things. ^31 (AD)But seek ^[f]the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

³² “Do not fear, little flock, for ^(AE)it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ^33 (AF)Sell what you have and give ^(AG)alms; ^(AH)provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant^(AI)

^35 (AJ)“Let your waist be girded and ^(AK)your lamps burning; ³⁶ and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. ^37 (AL)Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. ³⁸ And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. ^39 (AM)But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would ^[g]have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ^40 (AN)Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

⁴¹ Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?”

⁴² And the Lord said, ^(AO)“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food ^[h]in due season? ⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ^44 (AP)Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. ^45 (AQ)But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come on a ^(AR)day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷ And ^(AS)that servant who ^(AT)knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. ^48 (AU)But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Christ Brings Division^(AV)

^49 (AW)“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ But ^(AX)I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is ^(AY)accomplished! ^51 (AZ)Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, ^(BA)but rather division. ^52 (BB)For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. ^53 (BC)Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Discern the Time^(BD)

⁵⁴ Then He also said to the multitudes, ^(BE)“Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. ⁵⁵ And when you see the ^(BF)south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. ⁵⁶ Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern ^(BG)this time?

Make Peace with Your Adversary

⁵⁷ “Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? ^58 (BH)When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort ^(BI)along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”

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