< 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.
Había una vez un hombre de Ramataim de Zofim, en la región montañosa de Efraín. Su nombre era Elcana, hijo de Jeroham, hijo de Eliú, hijo de Tohu, hijo de Zuf, de la tribu de Efraín.
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.
Elcana tenía dos esposas. El nombre de la primera esposa era Ana, y el de la segunda, Penina. Penina tenía hijos, pero Ana no tenía ninguno.
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.
Todos los años Elcana salía de su ciudad y se iba a adorar y sacrificar al Señor Todopoderoso en Silo, donde los dos hijos de Elí, Ofni y Finees, eran los sacerdotes del Señor.
4 And the day came, and Helkana sacrificed, and gave portions to his wife Phennana and her children.
Cada vez que Elcana ofrecía un sacrificio, daba porciones del mismo a Penina, su esposa, y a todos sus hijos e hijas.
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.
Y le daba una porción extra a Ana, para mostrar su amor por ella aunque el Señor no le había dado ningún hijo.
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.
Su rival – la otra esposa – se burlaba de ella para entristecerla porque el Señor no le había dado hijos.
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.
Esta situación duró años, y cada vez que Ana iba al Templo del Señor, Penina se burlaba de ella hasta que Ana lloraba y no podía comer.
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?
Su esposo le preguntaba: “Ana, ¿por qué lloras? ¿Por qué no comes? ¿Por qué estás tan alterada? ¿No soy mejor para ti que diez hijos?”
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.
En cierta ocasión, después haber comido y bebido en Silo, Ana se levantó y se dirigió al Templo. El sacerdote Elí estaba sentado en su silla junto a la entrada del Templo del Señor.
10 And she [was] very much grieved in spirit, and prayed to the Lord, and wept abundantly.
Ana estaba terriblemente disgustada, y le oraba al Señor mientras lloraba inconsolablemente.
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.
Allí hizo un voto, pidiendo: “Señor Todopoderoso, si tan sólo te fijas en el sufrimiento de tu sierva y te acuerdas de mí, y no me olvidas, sino que me das un hijo, lo dedicaré al Señor durante toda su vida, y ninguna navaja de afeitar tocará su cabeza”.
12 And it came to pass, while she was long praying before the Lord, that Heli the priest marked her mouth.
Mientras Ana seguía orando ante el Señor, Elí observaba su boca.
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.
Ana oraba mentalmente, y aunque sus labios se movían, su voz no producía ningún sonido, y por eso Elí pensó que debía estar ebria.
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.
“¿Tienes que venir aquí estando ebria?”, le preguntó. “¡Ya deja el vino!”
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 es eso, mi señor”, le respondió Ana. “Soy una mujer muy desdichada. No he estado bebiendo vino ni cerveza; sólo estoy derramando mi corazón ante el Señor.
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.
¡Por favor, no pienses que soy una mala mujer! He estado orando a causa de todos mis problemas y penas”.
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.
“Ve en paz, y que el Dios de Israel te conceda lo que le has pedido”, respondió Elí.
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.
“Gracias por tu bondad con tu sierva”, dijo ella. Luego siguió su camino, comió algo y ya no se veía triste.
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.
A la mañana siguiente, Elcana y Ana se levantaron temprano para adorar al Señor y luego se fueron a su casa en Ramá. Elcana hizo el amor con su esposa Ana, y el Señor accedió a su petición.
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.
A su debido tiempo, Ana quedó embarazada y dio a luz un hijo. Le puso el nombre de Samuel, diciendo: “Porque se lo pedí al Señor”.
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.
Elcana y toda su familia fueron a hacer el sacrificio anual al Señor y a cumplir sus votos.
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.
Pero Ana no fue. Le dijo a su marido: “Una vez destetado el niño, lo llevaré para presentarlo al Señor y que se quede allí para siempre”.
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.
“Haz lo que creas conveniente”, le respondió su marido Elcana. “Quédate aquí hasta que lo hayas destetado, y que el Señor cumpla lo que ha dicho”. Así que Ana se quedó y amamantó a su hijo hasta que lo destetó.
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.
Cuando hubo destetado al niño, Ana se lo llevó junto con un novillo de tres años, un efa de harina y un odre con vino. Aunque el niño era pequeño, lo llevó al Templo del Señor en Silo.
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.
Después de sacrificar el novillo, presentaron el niño a Elí.
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.
“Por favor, mi señor”, dijo Ana, “con toda seguridad, mi señor, yo soy la mujer que estuvo aquí con usted orando al Señor.
27 For this child I prayed; and the Lord has given me my request that I asked of him.
Yo oré por este niño, y como el Señor me ha dado lo que le pedí,
28 And I lend him to the Lord all his days that he lives, a loan to the Lord: and she said,
ahora se lo entrego al Señor. Mientras viva estará dedicado al Señor”. Entoncesadoró al Señor en ese lugar.