< 1 Samuel 1 >
1 There was a man of Ramathaimsophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elcana, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliu, the son of Thohu, the son of Suph, 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 Anna, and the name of the other Phenenna. Phenenna had children: but Anna had no children.
He had two wives: Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had several children, but Hannah had no children.
3 And this man went up out of his city upon the appointed days, to adore and to offer sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Silo. And the two sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, were there priests of the Lord.
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 Now the day came, and Elcana offered sacrifice, and gave to Phenenna his wife, and to all her sons and daughters, portions:
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 Anna he gave one portion with sorrow, because he loved Anna. And the Lord had shut up 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 Her rival also afflicted her, and troubled her exceedingly, insomuch that she upbraided her, that the Lord had shut up 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 thus she did every year, when the time returned that they went up to the temple of the Lord: and thus she provoked her: but Anna wept, and did not eat.
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 Then Elcana her husband said to her: Anna, why weepest thou? and why dost thou not eat? And why dost thou afflict thy heart? Am not I better to thee than ten children?
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 So Anna arose after she had eaten and drunk in Silo: And Heli the priest sitting upon a stool, 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 As Anna had her heart full of grief, she prayed to the Lord, shedding many tears,
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 thou wilt look down on the affliction of thy servant, and wilt be mindful of me, and not forget thy handmaid, and wilt give to thy servant a man child: I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon 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 And it came to pass, as she multiplied prayers before the Lord, that Heli observed her mouth.
As she was praying like that to Yahweh, Eli the priest saw Hannah’s lips [moving as she was praying].
13 Now Anna spoke in her heart, and only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard at all. Heli therefore thought 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 said to her: How long wilt thou, be drunk? digest a little the wine, of which thou hast taken too much.
He said to her, “How long will you continue to get drunk [RHQ]? (Throw away your wine/Quit drinking wine)!”
15 Anna answering, said: Not so, my lord: for I am an exceeding unhappy woman, and have drunk neither wine nor any strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before 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 Count not thy handmaid for one of the daughters of Belial: for out of the abundance of my sorrow and grief have I spoken till 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 Heli said to her: Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition, which thou hast asked 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: Would to God thy handmaid may find grace in thy eyes. So the woman went on her way, and ate, and her countenance was no more changed.
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 in the morning, and worshipped before the Lord: and they returned, and came into their house at Ramatha. And Elcana knew Anna his wife: 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 came to pass when the time was come about, Anna conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel: because she had asked him of 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 And Elcana her husband went up, and all his house, to offer to the Lord the solemn sacrifice, and 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 Anna went not up: for she said to her husband: I will not go till the child be weaned, and till I may carry him, that he may appear before the Lord, and may abide 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 Elcana her husband said to her: Do what seemeth good to thee, and stay till thou wean him: and I pray that the Lord may fulfill his word. So the woman stayed at home, and gave her son suck, till she weaned him.
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 carried him with her, with three calves, and three bushels of flour, and a bottle of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord in Silo. Now the child was as yet very young:
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 offered the child to Heli.
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 Anna said: I beseech thee, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord: I am that woman who stood before thee 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 For this child did I pray, and the Lord hath granted 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 Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord all the days of his life, he shall be lent to the Lord. And they adored the Lord there. And Anna prayed, and 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.