1 Samuel 1:1-2:11

New International Version

The Birth of Samuel

1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim,^(A) a Zuphite^[a]^(B) from the hill country^(C) of Ephraim,^(D) whose name was Elkanah^(E) son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ²He had two wives;^(F) one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

³Year after year^(G) this man went up from his town to worship^(H) and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh,^(I) where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli,^(J) were priests of the Lord. ⁴Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice,^(K) he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.^(L) ⁵But to Hannah he gave a double portion^(M) because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.^(N) ⁶Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.^(O) ⁷This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.^(P) ⁸Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?^(Q)”

⁹Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house.^(R) ¹⁰In her deep anguish^(S) Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. ¹¹And she made a vow,^(T) saying, “Lord Almighty^(U), if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember^(V) me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life,^(W) and no razor^(X) will ever be used on his head.”

¹²As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. ¹³Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

¹⁵“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled.^(Y) I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring^(Z) out my soul to the Lord. ¹⁶Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”^(AA)

¹⁷Eli answered, “Go in peace,^(AB) and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.^(AC)”

¹⁸She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.^(AD)” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.^(AE)

¹⁹Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah.^(AF) Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered^(AG) her. ²⁰So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.^(AH) She named^(AI) him Samuel,^[b]^(AJ) saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

Hannah Dedicates Samuel

²¹When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual^(AK) sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow,^(AL) ²²Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present^(AM) him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”^[c]

²³“Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good^(AN) his^[d] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned^(AO) him.

²⁴After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,^[e]^(AP) an ephah^[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. ²⁵When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, ²⁶and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷I prayed^(AQ) for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life^(AR) he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Then Hannah prayed and said:^(AS)

“My heart rejoices^(AT) in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn^[g]^(AU) is lifted high.
My mouth boasts^(AV) over my enemies,^(AW)
for I delight in your deliverance.

²“There is no one holy^(AX) like^(AY) the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock^(AZ) like our God.

³“Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,^(BA)
for the Lord is a God who knows,^(BB)
and by him deeds^(BC) are weighed.^(BD)

⁴“The bows of the warriors are broken,^(BE)
    but those who stumbled are armed with strength.^(BF)
⁵Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
    but those who were hungry^(BG) are hungry no more.
She who was barren^(BH) has borne seven children,
    but she who has had many sons pines away.

⁶“The Lord brings death and makes alive;^(BI)
    he brings down to the grave and raises up.^(BJ)
⁷The Lord sends poverty and wealth;^(BK)
    he humbles and he exalts.^(BL)
⁸He raises^(BM) the poor^(BN) from the dust^(BO)
    and lifts the needy^(BP) from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.^(BQ)

“For the foundations^(BR) of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them he has set the world.
⁹He will guard the feet^(BS) of his faithful servants,^(BT)
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.^(BU)

“It is not by strength^(BV) that one prevails;
¹⁰ those who oppose the Lord will be broken.^(BW)
The Most High will thunder^(BX) from heaven;
the Lord will judge^(BY) the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength^(BZ) to his king
and exalt the horn^(CA) of his anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went home to Ramah,^(CB) but the boy ministered^(CC) before the Lord under Eli the priest.

Footnotes

1 Samuel 1:1 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 6:26-27,33-35; or from Ramathaim Zuphim.
1 Samuel 1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard by God.
1 Samuel 1:22 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls always. I have dedicated him as a Nazirite—all the days of his life.”
1 Samuel 1:23 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac your
1 Samuel 1:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; Masoretic Text with three bulls
1 Samuel 1:24 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
1 Samuel 2:1 Horn here symbolizes strength; also in verse 10.

Proverbs 5:1-6:19

New International Version

Warning Against Adultery

5 My son,^(A) pay attention to my wisdom,
    turn your ear to my words^(B) of insight,
²that you may maintain discretion
    and your lips may preserve knowledge.
³For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil;^(C)
⁴but in the end she is bitter as gall,^(D)
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
⁵Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.^(E)
⁶She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.^(F)

⁷Now then, my sons, listen^(G) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
⁸Keep to a path far from her,^(H)
    do not go near the door of her house,
⁹lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity^[a] to one who is cruel,
¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.^(I)
¹¹At the end of your life you will groan,
    when your flesh and body are spent.
¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    How my heart spurned correction!^(J)
¹³I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴And I was soon in serious trouble^(K)
    in the assembly of God’s people.”^(L)

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    your streams of water in the public squares?
¹⁷Let them be yours alone,
    never to be shared with strangers.
¹⁸May your fountain^(M) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.^(N)
¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful deer^(O)—
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
²⁰Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
    Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

²¹For your ways are in full view^(P) of the Lord,
    and he examines^(Q) all your paths.^(R)
²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;^(S)
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.^(T)
²³For lack of discipline they will die,^(U)
    led astray by their own great folly.^(V)

Warnings Against Folly

6 My son,^(W) if you have put up security^(X) for your neighbor,^(Y)
    if you have shaken hands in pledge^(Z) for a stranger,
²you have been trapped by what you said,
    ensnared by the words of your mouth.
³So do this, my son, to free yourself,
    since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—^[b]
    and give your neighbor no rest!
⁴Allow no sleep to your eyes,
    no slumber to your eyelids.^(AA)
⁵Free yourself, like a gazelle^(AB) from the hand of the hunter,^(AC)
    like a bird from the snare of the fowler.^(AD)

⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard;^(AE)
    consider its ways and be wise!
⁷It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer^(AF)
    and gathers its food at harvest.^(AG)

⁹How long will you lie there, you sluggard?^(AH)
    When will you get up from your sleep?
¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest^(AI)—
¹¹and poverty^(AJ) will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

¹²A troublemaker and a villain,
    who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
¹³    who winks maliciously with his eye,^(AK)
    signals with his feet
    and motions with his fingers,^(AL)
¹⁴    who plots evil^(AM) with deceit in his heart—
    he always stirs up conflict.^(AN)
¹⁵Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;^(AO)
    he will suddenly^(AP) be destroyed—without remedy.^(AQ)

¹⁶There are six things the Lord hates,^(AR)
    seven that are detestable to him:
¹⁷        haughty eyes,^(AS)
        a lying tongue,^(AT)
        hands that shed innocent blood,^(AU)
¹⁸        a heart that devises wicked schemes,
        feet that are quick to rush into evil,^(AV)
¹⁹        a false witness^(AW) who pours out lies^(AX)
        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.^(AY)