Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

27 The holy prayer of David. The Lord is my lightening, and mine health; whom shall I dread? The Lord is defender of my life; for whom shall I tremble [for whom shall I quake]? (The holy prayer of David. The Lord is my light, and my salvation, or my deliverance; who shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; for who else shall I tremble, or shake over?)

² The while noisome men nigh on me; for to eat my fleshes. Mine enemies, that troubled me; they were made sick and felled down. (All the while harmful, or dangerous, men come near to me; to eat my flesh. But my enemies, those who trouble me, were made feeble, or weak; they all fell down.)

³ Though castles stand together against me; mine heart shall not dread (Though hosts, or armies, stand together against me; my heart shall not fear). Though battle riseth against me; in this thing I shall have hope.

⁴ I asked of the Lord one thing; I shall seek this thing; that I dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I see the will of the Lord; and that I visit his temple. (I asked of the Lord only one thing; and I shall seek this thing; that I live in the House of the Lord all the days of my life. So that I can see the beauty of the Lord; and I can seek his guidance in his Temple.)

⁵ For he hid me in his tabernacle in the day of evils; he defended me in the hid place of his tabernacle. He enhanced me in a stone; (For he shall hide me in his Temple on the day of evil; he shall defend me in the hidden place of his Temple. He shall put me upon a stone;)

⁶ and now he enhanced mine head over mine enemies. I compassed, and offered in his tabernacle a sacrifice of crying [out]; I shall sing, and I shall say psalm to the Lord. (and then my head shall be lifted up over my enemies, who be all around me. And I shall offer an offering of acclamation in his Temple; yea, I shall sing a song of praise to the Lord.)

1 There was a man of Ramathaim in Zophim, of the hill (country) of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, son of Elihi, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim.

² And Elkanah had two wives; the name to the one was Hannah, and the name of the second was Peninnah; and sons were to Peninnah; but Hannah had none free children. (And Elkanah had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah, and the name of the second was Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.)

³ And that man went up from his city in the days that were ordained, to worship and to offer sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And [the] two sons of Eli were there, Hophni and Phinehas, priests of the Lord.

⁴ Then the day came, and Elkanah offered, and he gave parts to Peninnah, his wife (and he gave portions to his wife Peninnah), and to all his sons and daughters;

⁵ forsooth he gave sorrowfully one part, either double, to Hannah, for he loved Hannah; forsooth the Lord had closed her womb. (and sorrowfully he gave only one special portion to Hannah; for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed up her womb.)

⁶ And (Peninnah,) her enemy tormented her, and anguished (her) greatly, in so much that she upbraided her, that the Lord had closed (up) her womb.

⁷ And so Peninnah did each year, when the time came that they went up into the house of the Lord; and so she stirred Hannah. And then she wept, and took no meat. (And Peninnah did so each year, when the time came that they went up to the House of the Lord; and so she tormented Hannah. And then Hannah wept, and ate no food.)

⁸ Therefore Elkanah, her husband, said to her, Hannah, why weepest thou, and why eatest thou not, and why is thine heart tormented? Whether I am not better to thee than be ten sons? (Am I not better to thee than ten sons?)

⁹ Soothly Hannah rose, after that she had eaten and drunk in Shiloh. And the while Eli [the priest] was on his great seat before the posts of the house of the Lord, (And Hannah rose up, after that she had eaten and drunk in Shiloh. And while Eli the priest was on his great throne, beside the door of the House of the Lord,)

¹⁰ and when she was in bitter sorrow of soul, she prayed (to) the Lord, and wept largely (and greatly wept);

¹¹ and she made a vow to the Lord, and said, Lord God of hosts, if thou beholdest, and seest the torment of thy servantess, and if thou hast mind of me, and forgettest not thine handmaid, and givest a son to thy servantess, I shall give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall not come upon his head.

¹² And it was done, when she multiplied her prayers before the Lord, that Eli espied her mouth.

¹³ Forsooth Hannah spake in her heart, and only her lips were moved, and utterly her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli guessed her drunken, (And Hannah spoke in her heart, so that only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. And so Eli guessed that she was drunk.)

¹⁴ and he said to her, How long shalt thou be drunken? Avoid thou a little the wine, by which thou art moist (Be thou done with the wine, by which thou art made drunk).

¹⁵ Hannah answered, and said, Nay, my lord, for I am an unhappy woman; I have not drunk wine, neither anything that may make drunken, but I have poured out my soul in the Lord’s sight (but I have poured out my soul before the Lord);

¹⁶ guess thou not thine handmaid as one of the daughters of Belial, for of the multitude of my sorrow and of my mourning I have spoken unto this present time. (think thou not that thy servantess is one of the daughters of Belial, for until this present time I have spoken out of the multitude of my sorrow, and of my mourning.)

¹⁷ Then Eli said to her, Go thou in peace, and (the) God of Israel give to thee the asking that thou hast prayed him (for).

¹⁸ And she said, I would that thine handmaid find grace in thine eyes. And the woman went into her way, and ate, and her cheers were no more changed diversely. (And she said, I desire that thy servantess find favour in thine eyes. And the woman went her way, and ate, and her face was no longer sad.)

¹⁹ And they rised (up) early, and worshipped before the Lord; and they turned again, and came into their house in Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah, his wife; and the Lord thought on her (and the Lord remembered her).

²⁰ And it was done after the compass of days, Hannah conceived, and childed a son, and called his name Samuel; for she had asked him of the Lord (for she had asked for him from the Lord).

¹¹ For, brethren, I make known to you the evangel, that was preached of me, for it is not by man; [Soothly brethren, I make the gospel known to you, which is evangelized, or preached, of me, for it is not after man;]

¹² nor I took it of man, nor learned [neither I took it of man, neither learned], but by [the] revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For ye have heard my conversation sometime in the Jewry, that I pursued surpassingly the church of God [for over manner, or measure, I pursued the church of God], and fought against it.

¹⁴ And I profited in the Jewry above many of mine even-elders in my kindred, and was more abundantly a follower of my fathers' traditions [being more abundantly a lover, or follower, of my fathers' traditions].

¹⁵ But when it pleased him, that separated me [that parted me] from my mother's womb, and called by his grace,

¹⁶ to show his Son in me, that I should preach him among the heathen, at once I drew me not to flesh and blood [anon I accorded not to flesh and blood];

¹⁷ nor I came to Jerusalem [neither I came to Jerusalem] to the apostles, that were before me, but I went into Arabia, and again I turned again into Damascus.

¹⁸ And since three years after I came to Jerusalem, to see Peter, and I dwelled with him fifteen days; [Afterward after three years I came to Jerusalem, to see Peter, and dwelled with him fifteen days;]

¹⁹ but I saw none other of the apostles, but James, our Lord's brother [no but James, the brother of the Lord].

²⁰ And these things which I write to you, lo! before God I lie not.

²¹ Afterward I came into the coasts [the parts] of Syria and Cilicia.

²² But I was unknown by face to the churches of Judaea, that were in Christ;

²³ and they had only an hearing, that he that pursued us sometime, preacheth now the faith [now evangelizeth the faith], against which he fought sometime;

²⁴ and in me they glorified God.