1 Samuel 1

1 There was a certain man from Ramah of Zophim, on Mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah [town] in the hilly area where [the tribe of] Ephraim lived. His father was Jeroham, his grandfather was Elihu, and his great-grandfather was Tohu. He belonged to the Zuph clan.

2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the second was Peninnah. And Peninnah had sons. But Hannah did not have children.

He had two wives: Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had several children, but Hannah had no children.

3 And this man went up from his city, on the established days, so that he might adore and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests of the Lord, were in that place.

Once every year Elkanah went up [with his family] from Ramah to Shiloh [city]. He went there to worship Yahweh, [the commander] of the armies [of angels], and to offer sacrifices to him. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, [helped their father to do the work as] priests of Yahweh there.

4 Then the day arrived, and Elkanah immolated. And he gave portions to his wife Peninnah, and to all her sons and daughters.

Each time Elkanah offered sacrifices there, he gave some of the meat to Peninnah and some to each of her sons and daughters.

5 But to Hannah he gave one portion with sorrow. For he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb.

But even though he loved Hannah very much, he gave her only one special amount of meat because Yahweh had not permitted her to give birth to any children.

6 And her rival afflicted her and vehemently distressed her, to a great extent, for she rebuked her that the Lord had closed her womb.

And his other wife, Peninnah, would ridicule Hannah to make her feel miserable, because Yahweh had not allowed her to bear children.

7 And she did so every year, when the time returned for them to ascend to the temple of the Lord. And she provoked her in this way. And so, she wept and did not take food.

This happened every year. When they went up to the temple of Yahweh [at Shiloh], Peninnah ridiculed Hannah so much that Hannah cried and would not eat.

8 Therefore, her husband Elkanah said to her: “Hannah, why are you weeping? And why do you not eat? And for what reason do you afflict your heart? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

Then Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, (why are you crying?/please quit crying!) [RHQ] (Why are you not eating?/Please eat something!) [RHQ] Why are you so upset/sad? You have me; is that not more important to you than if you had ten sons? (OR, I [love you] more than your sons [would love you], even if you had ten sons.)”

9 And so, after she ate and drank at Shiloh, Hannah rose up. And Eli, the priest, was sitting on the seat before the door of the temple of the Lord.

One year, after they had finished eating and drinking at Shiloh, Hannah stood up [to pray]. Eli the priest was nearby, sitting on a chair by the doorway of the sacred tent of Yahweh.

10 And since Hannah was bitter in soul, she prayed to the Lord, weeping greatly.

Hannah was very distressed, and she cried very sorrowfully as she prayed to Yahweh.

11 And she made a vow, saying, “O Lord of hosts, if, in looking with favor, you will see the affliction of your servant and will remember me, and will not forget your handmaid, and if you will give to your servant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall pass over his head.”

She made a vow saying, “O Almighty Commander of the armies of angels, if you will look at me and see how miserable I am, and think about me and allow me to give birth to a son, then I will dedicate him to you [to serve you] for the rest of his life. And [to show that he is dedicated to you], (no one will ever [be allowed to] cut his hair/his hair will never be cut).”

12 Then it happened that, while she multiplied prayers before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth.

As she was praying like that to Yahweh, Eli the priest saw Hannah’s lips [moving as she was praying].

13 For Hannah was speaking in her heart, and only her lips moved, and her voice was barely heard. Therefore, Eli considered her to be drunk,

But Hannah was only praying silently; she was not making any sound. So Eli thought that she was drunk.

14 and so he said to her: “How long will you be inebriated? You should take only a little wine, but instead you are drenched.”

He said to her, “How long will you continue to get drunk [RHQ]? (Throw away your wine/Quit drinking wine)!”

15 Responding, Hannah said: “By no means, my lord. For I am an exceedingly unhappy woman, and I drank neither wine, nor anything that can inebriate. Instead, I have poured out my soul in the sight of the Lord.

Hannah replied, “Sir, I am not drunk! I have not been drinking wine or any other alcoholic drink. I feel very distressed and I have been telling Yahweh about how I feel.

16 You should not repute your handmaid as one of the daughters of Belial. For I have been speaking from the abundance of my sorrow and grief, even until now.”

Do not think that I am a worthless/wicked woman! I have been praying like this because I am very distressed [DOU].”

17 Then Eli said to her: “Go in peace. And may the God of Israel grant to you your petition, which you have begged of him.”

Eli replied, “I wish/desire that things will go well for you. I desire that God, the one we Israeli people [worship], will give you what you requested from him.”

18 And she said, “I wish that your handmaid may find grace in your eyes.” And the woman went on her way, and she ate, and her countenance was no longer changed for the worse.

She replied, “I want you to think highly/well about me.” Then she returned [to her family] and after she ate something, her face no longer looked sad.

19 And they rose up in the morning, and they worshipped before the Lord. And they returned and arrived at their own house at Ramah. Then Elkanah knew his wife Hannah. And the Lord remembered her.

Early the next morning, Elkanah and his family got up and worshiped Yahweh [again], and then they returned to their home at Ramah. Elkanah (slept with/had sex with) Hannah. Then Yahweh answered her prayer,

20 And it happened that, in the course of days, Hannah conceived and bore a son. And she called his name Samuel, because she had requested him from the Lord.

and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, [which sounds like the words in the Hebrew language that mean ‘heard by God’], because she said “Yahweh [heard me when] I requested from him [a son].”

21 Now her husband Elkanah ascended with his entire house, so that he might immolate to the Lord a solemn sacrifice, with his vow.

The following year, Elkanah again went up [to Shiloh] with his family to make the kind of sacrifice he made each year, and also to give a special offering to God that he had promised [to give him previously].

22 But Hannah did not go up. For she said to her husband, “I will not go, until the infant has been weaned, and until I may lead him, so that he may appear before the sight of the Lord, and may remain always there.”

But Hannah did not go [with them]. She said to her husband, “After I have weaned the baby, I will take him [to Shiloh and present him] to Yahweh, and he will stay there for the rest of his life.”

23 And her husband Elkanah said to her: “Do what seems good to you, and stay until you wean him. And I pray that the Lord may fulfill his word.” Therefore, the woman remained at home, and she breastfed her son, until she withdrew him from milk.

Elkanah said, “Do what seems the best to you. Stay here until you have weaned him. What I desire is that Yahweh will [enable you to] do what you have promised.” So Hannah stayed at home and nursed her son until she weaned him.

24 And after she had weaned him, she brought him with her, along with three calves, and three measures of flour, and a small bottle of wine, and she led him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. But the boy was still a young child.

After she weaned him, even though Samuel was very young, she took him to the temple/house of Yahweh at Shiloh. [To offer as a sacrifice], she took along a three-year-old bull, [a sack containing] (20 pounds/9 kg.) of flour, and a container of wine.

25 And they immolated a calf, and they presented the boy to Eli.

After the priest had slaughtered the bull [and offered it to Yahweh on the altar], Hannah and Elkanah brought the boy to Eli.

26 And Hannah said: “I beg you, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord: I am that woman, who stood before you here, praying to the Lord.

Then Hannah said to him, “Sir, (Do you remember me?/I solemnly affirm), I am the woman who prayed as I stood here beside you [several years ago].

27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted to me my petition, which I asked of him.

I prayed that Yahweh would enable me to give birth to a child, and this is the child whom I requested Yahweh to give me.

28 Because of this, I have also lent him to the Lord, for all the days when he shall be lent to the Lord.” And they adored the Lord in that place. And Hannah prayed, and she said:

So now I am presenting him to Yahweh. He will belong to Yahweh as long as he lives.” Then Elkanah [and his family] worshiped Yahweh there.