Kings I 1

1 There was a man of Armathaim Sipha, of mount Ephraim, and his name [was] Helkana, a son of Jeremeel the son of Elias the son of Thoke, in Nasib Ephraim.

Now there was a man named Elkanah who was from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

2 And he [had] two wives; the name of the one [was] Anna, and the name of the second Phennana. And Phennana had children, but Anna had no child.

He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

3 And the man went up from year to year from his city, from Armathaim, to worship and sacrifice to the Lord God of Sabaoth at Selom: and [there were] Heli and his two sons Ophni and Phinees, the priests of the Lord.

Year after year Elkanah would go up from his city to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Hosts at Shiloh, where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the LORD.

4 And the day came, and Helkana sacrificed, and gave portions to his wife Phennana and her children.

And whenever the day came for Elkanah to present his sacrifice, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.

5 And to Anna he gave a prime portion, because she had no child, only Helkana loved Anna more than the other; but the Lord [had] closed her womb.

But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved her even though the LORD had closed her womb.

6 For the Lord gave her no child in her affliction, and according to the despondency of her affliction; and she was dispirited on this account, that the Lord shut up her womb so as not to give her a child.

Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her and taunt her viciously.

7 So she did year by year, in going up to the house of the Lord; and she was dispirited, and wept, and did not eat.

And this went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival taunted her until she wept and would not eat.

8 And Helkana her husband said to her, Anna: and she said to him, Here [am] I, my lord: and he said to her, What ails thee that thou weepest? and why dost thou not eat? and why does thy heart smite thee? [am] I not better to thee than ten children?

“Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband Elkanah asked. “Why won’t you eat? Why is your heart so grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

9 And Anna rose up after they had eaten in Selom, and stood before the Lord: and Heli the priest [was] on a seat by the threshold of the temple of the Lord.

So after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.

10 And she [was] very much grieved in spirit, and prayed to the Lord, and wept abundantly.

In her bitter distress, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears.

11 And she vowed a vow to the Lord, saying, O Lord God of Sabaoth, if thou welt indeed look upon the humiliation of thine handmaid, and remember me, and give to thine handmaid a man-child, then will I indeed dedicate him to thee till the day of his death; and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and no razor shall come upon his head.

And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever come over his head.”

12 And it came to pass, while she was long praying before the Lord, that Heli the priest marked her mouth.

As Hannah kept on praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth.

13 And she was speaking in her heart, and her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: and Heli accounted her a drunken woman.

Hannah was praying in her heart, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk

14 And the servant of Heli said to her, How long wilt thou be drunken? take away thy wine from thee, and go out from the presence of the Lord.

and said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine!”

15 And Anna answered and said, Nay, my lord, [I live] in a hard day, and I have not drunk wine or strong drink, and I pour out my soul before the Lord.

“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman oppressed in spirit. I have not had any wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.

16 Count not thy handmaid for a pestilent woman, for by reason of the abundance of my importunity I have continued [my prayer] until now.

Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; for all this time I have been praying out of the depth of my anguish and grief.”

17 And Heli answered and said to her, Go in peace: the God of Israel give thee all thy petition, which thou hast asked of him.

“Go in peace,” Eli replied, “and may the God of Israel grant the petition you have asked of Him.”

18 And she said, Thine handmaid has found favour in thine eyes: and the woman went her way, and entered into her lodging, and ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was no more sad.

“May your maidservant find favor with you,” said Hannah. Then she went on her way, and she began eating again, and her face was no longer downcast.

19 And they rise early in the morning, and worship the Lord, and they go their way: and Helkana went into his house at Armathaim, and knew his wife Anna; and the Lord remembered her, and she conceived.

The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to bow in worship before the LORD, and then returned home to Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.

20 And it came to pass when the time was come, that she brought forth a son, and called his name Samuel, and said, Because I asked him of the Lord God of Sabaoth.

So in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.”

21 And the man Helkana and all his house went up to offer in Selom the yearly sacrifice, and his vows, and all the tithes of his land.

Then Elkanah and all his house went up to make the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow,

22 But Anna did not go up with him, for she said to her husband, [I will not go up] until the child goes up, when I have weaned him, and he shall be presented before the Lord, and he shall abide there continually.

but Hannah did not go. “After the boy is weaned,” she said to her husband, “I will take him to appear before the LORD and to stay there permanently.”

23 And Helkana her husband said to her, Do that which is good in thine eyes, abide still until thou shalt have weaned him; but may the Lord establish that which comes out of thy mouth: and the woman tarried, and suckled her son until she had weaned him.

“Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah replied, “and stay here until you have weaned him. Only may the LORD confirm His word.” So Hannah stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

24 And she went up with him to Selom with a calf of three years old, and loaves, and an ephah of fine flour, and a bottle of wine: and she entered into the house of the Lord in Selom, and the child with them.

Once she had weaned him, Hannah took the boy with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. Though the boy was still young, she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.

25 And they brought him before the Lord; and his father slew his offering which he offered from year to year to the Lord; and he brought near the child, and slew the calf; and Anna the mother of the child brought him to Heli.

And when they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli.

26 And she said, I pray thee, my lord, as thy soul liveth, I [am] the woman that stood in thy presence with thee while praying to the Lord.

“Please, my lord,” said Hannah, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.

27 For this child I prayed; and the Lord has given me my request that I asked of him.

I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him,

28 And I lend him to the Lord all his days that he lives, a loan to the Lord: and she said,

I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.