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Hannah prayed, and said:

“My heart exults in Yahweh!
    My horn is exalted in Yahweh.
My mouth is enlarged over my enemies,
    because I rejoice in your salvation.
There is no one as holy as Yahweh,
    for there is no one besides you,
    nor is there any rock like our God.

“Don’t keep talking so exceedingly proudly.
    Don’t let arrogance come out of your mouth,
    for Yahweh is a God of knowledge.
    By him actions are weighed.

“The bows of the mighty men are broken.
    Those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread.
    Those who were hungry are satisfied.
Yes, the barren has borne seven.
    She who has many children languishes.

“Yahweh kills and makes alive.
    He brings down to Sheol[a] and brings up.
Yahweh makes poor and makes rich.
    He brings low, he also lifts up.
He raises up the poor out of the dust.
    He lifts up the needy from the dunghill
    to make them sit with princes
    and inherit the throne of glory.
For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s.
    He has set the world on them.
He will keep the feet of his holy ones,
    but the wicked will be put to silence in darkness;
    for no man will prevail by strength.
10 Those who strive with Yahweh shall be broken to pieces.
    He will thunder against them in the sky.

“Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth.
    He will give strength to his king,
    and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

11 Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. The child served Yahweh before Eli the priest.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:6 Sheol is the place of the dead.

Hannah’s Thanksgiving Psalm

Then Hannah prayed:

“My heart exults in the Lord;
    my strength[a] is increased by the Lord.
I will open my mouth to speak[b] against my enemies,
    because I rejoice in your deliverance.

Indeed,[c] there is no one holy like the Lord,
    indeed, there is no one besides you,
there is no rock like our God.

Don’t continue to talk proudly,
    and don’t speak arrogantly,
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.

The bows of warriors are shattered,[d]
    but those who stumble are equipped with[e] strength.
Those who had an abundance of bread
    now hire themselves out,
and those who were hungry
    hunger no more.[f]
While the barren woman gives birth to seven children,[g]
    she who had many children languishes.

The Lord kills and gives life,
    he brings people down to where the dead are[h]
        and he raises them up.
The Lord makes people poor
    and he makes people rich,
he brings them low,
    and he also exalts them.
He raises the poor up from the dust,
    he lifts up the needy from the trash heap
to make them sit with princes
    and inherit a seat of honor.
Indeed the pillars of the earth belong to the Lord,
    and he has set the world on them.
He guards the steps[i] of his faithful ones,
    while the wicked are made silent[j] in darkness.
He grants the request of the one who prays.[k]
    He blesses the year of the righteous.[l]
Indeed it’s not by strength that a person prevails.

10 The Lord will shatter his enemies[m]
    —those who contend against him.
Who is holy?[n]
    The one who will thunder[o] against them in the heavens.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth,
    he will give strength to his king,
        and he will increase the strength of His anointed one.”

11 Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah, while the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 2:1 Lit. horn; i.e. a symbol of strength and well-being
  2. 1 Samuel 2:1 The Heb. lacks to speak
  3. 1 Samuel 2:2 So 4QSama LXX; MT lacks Indeed
  4. 1 Samuel 2:4 Lit. are shattering; 4QSama reads warriors shatter
  5. 1 Samuel 2:4 Lit. stumble gird on
  6. 1 Samuel 2:5 Lit. cease
  7. 1 Samuel 2:5 The Heb. lacks children
  8. 1 Samuel 2:6 Lit. Sheol; i.e. the realm of the dead
  9. 1 Samuel 2:9 Lit. feet; cf. 4QSama
  10. 1 Samuel 2:9 Or are destroyed
  11. 1 Samuel 2:9 So 4QSama LXX; MT lacks this line
  12. 1 Samuel 2:9 So 4QSama LXX; MT lacks this line
  13. 1 Samuel 2:10 So 4QSama LXX; MT lacks his enemies
  14. 1 Samuel 2:10 So 4QSama; MT lacks this line; LXX reads The Lord is holy
  15. 1 Samuel 2:10 So MT; or He thundered; 4QSama reads And he thundered