I. The Last Judges, Eli and Samuel

Chapter 1

Elkanah and His Family at Shiloh. ¹ There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.^{(A) 2} He had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ³ Each year this man went up from his city to worship and offer sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were ministering as priests of the Lord.^{(B) 4} When the day came for Elkanah to offer sacrifice, he used to give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters, ⁵ but he would give a double portion to Hannah because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.^{(C) 6} Her rival,^[a] to upset her, would torment her constantly, since the Lord had closed her womb.^{(D) 7} Year after year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, Peninnah would provoke her, and Hannah would weep and refuse to eat.^{[b] 8} Elkanah, her husband, would say to her: “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why are you not eating? Why are you so miserable? Am I not better for you than ten sons?”^(E)

Hannah’s Prayer. ⁹ Hannah rose after one such meal at Shiloh, and presented herself before the Lord; at the time Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the doorpost of the Lord’s temple. ¹⁰ In her bitterness she prayed to the Lord, weeping freely, ¹¹ and made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if you look with pity on the hardship of your servant, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life. No razor shall ever touch his head.”^{[c](F) 12} As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli watched her mouth, ¹³ for Hannah was praying silently; though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli, thinking she was drunk, ¹⁴ said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Sober up from your wine!” ¹⁵ “No, my lord!” Hannah answered. “I am an unhappy woman. I have had neither wine nor liquor; I was only pouring out my heart to the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not think your servant a worthless woman; my prayer has been prompted by my deep sorrow and misery.” ¹⁷ Eli said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have requested.” ¹⁸ She replied, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes,” and left. She went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and no longer appeared downhearted. ¹⁹ Early the next morning they worshiped before the Lord, and then returned to their home in Ramah. When they returned Elkanah had intercourse with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.

Hannah Bears a Son. ²⁰ She conceived and, at the end of her pregnancy, bore a son whom she named Samuel.^[d] “Because I asked the Lord for him.” ²¹ The next time her husband Elkanah was going up with the rest of his household to offer the customary sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vows, ²² Hannah did not go, explaining to her husband, “Once the child is weaned, I will take him to appear before the Lord and leave him there forever.”^{[e] 23} Her husband Elkanah answered her: “Do what you think best; wait until you have weaned him. Only may the Lord fulfill his word!” And so she remained at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.^(G)

Hannah Presents Samuel to the Lord. ²⁴ Once he was weaned, she brought him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah^[f] of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the house of the Lord in Shiloh. ²⁵ After they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ Then Hannah spoke up: “Excuse me, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here near you, praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. ²⁸ Now I, in turn, give him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.” Then they worshiped there before the Lord.

Chapter 2

¹ And Hannah prayed:^[g]

¹¹ When Elkanah returned home to Ramah, the child remained in the service of the Lord under the priest Eli.

Wickedness of Eli’s Sons. ¹² Now the sons of Eli were wicked; they had respect neither for the Lord ¹³ nor for the priests’ duties toward the people. When someone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork, while the meat was still boiling,^{(P) 14} and would thrust it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or pot. Whatever the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. They treated all the Israelites who came to the sanctuary at Shiloh in this way. ¹⁵ In fact, even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the one offering the sacrifice, “Give me some meat to roast for the priest. He will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw meat.” ¹⁶ And if this one protested, “Let the fat be burned first, then take whatever you wish,” he would reply, “No, give it to me now, or else I will take it by force.”^{(Q) 17} Thus the young men sinned grievously in the presence of the Lord, treating the offerings to the Lord with disdain.

The Lord Rewards Hannah. ¹⁸ Meanwhile the boy Samuel, wearing a linen ephod,^[i] was serving in the presence of the Lord. ¹⁹ His mother used to make a little garment for him, which she would bring him each time she went up with her husband to offer the customary sacrifice. ²⁰ And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, as they were leaving for home. He would say, “May the Lord repay you with children from this woman for the gift she has made to the Lord!” ²¹ The Lord favored Hannah so that she conceived and gave birth to three more sons and two daughters, while young Samuel grew up in the service of the Lord.^(R)

Eli’s Futile Rebuke. ²² When Eli was very old, he kept hearing how his sons were treating all Israel, and that they were behaving promiscuously^[j] with the women serving at the entry of the meeting tent. ²³ So he said to them: “Why are you doing such things? I hear from everyone that your behavior is depraved. ²⁴ Stop this, my sons! The report that I hear the Lord’s people spreading is not good. ²⁵ If someone sins against another, anyone can intercede for the sinner with the Lord; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who can intercede^[k] for the sinner?” But they disregarded their father’s warning, since the Lord wanted them dead. ²⁶ Meanwhile, young Samuel was growing in stature and in worth in the estimation of the Lord and the people.^(S)

The Fate of Eli’s House.^{[l] 27} A man of God came to Eli and said to him: “Thus says the Lord: I went so far as to reveal myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt as slaves to the house of Pharaoh. ²⁸ I chose them out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priests, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod^[m] in my presence; and I assigned all the fire offerings of the Israelites to your father’s house.^{(T) 29} Why do you stare greedily at my sacrifices and at the offerings that I have prescribed? Why do you honor your sons more than you honor me, fattening yourselves with the choicest part of every offering of my people Israel? ^30 (U)This, therefore, is the oracle of the Lord, the God of Israel: I said in the past that your family and your father’s house should minister in my presence forever. But now—oracle of the Lord: Far be it from me! I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me shall be cursed. ³¹ Yes, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that no one in your family lives to old age. ³² You shall witness, like a disappointed rival, all the benefits enjoyed by Israel, but no member of your household shall ever grow old. ³³ I will leave you one man at my altar to wear out his eyes and waste his strength, but the rest of your family shall die by the sword. ³⁴ This is a sign for you—what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. Both of them will die on the same day.^{(V) 35} I will choose a faithful priest who shall do what I have in heart and mind. I will establish a lasting house for him and he shall serve in the presence of my anointed forever. ³⁶ Then whoever is left of your family will grovel before him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, saying: Please assign me a priestly function, that I may have a crust of bread to eat.”^(W)

Pe

Sadhe

Parable of the Lamp. ^21 (A)He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?^{(B) 22} For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light.^{(C) 23} Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” ²⁴ He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you.^{(D) 25} To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”^(E)

Seed Grows of Itself. ²⁶ He said, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God;^[a] it is as if a man were to scatter seed^(F) on the land ²⁷ and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. ²⁸ Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ²⁹ And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”

The Mustard Seed. ^30 (G)He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. ^32 [b]But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” ³³ With many such parables^(H) he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. ³⁴ Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

The Calming of a Storm at Sea. ^35 [c]On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, “Let us cross to the other side.”^{(I) 36} Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. ³⁷ A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”^[d] The wind ceased and there was great calm. ⁴⁰ Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” ^41 [e](J)They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”