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.

Once there was a man from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, from the tribe of Ephraim.

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. The name of the first wife was Hannah, and the name of the second, Peninnah. 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.

Every year Elkanah would leave his town and go to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the Lord's priests.

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

Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he would give portions of it to Peninnah his wife 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.

He would give an extra portion to Hannah, to show his love for her even though the Lord hadn't given her any children.

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.

Her rival—the other wife—would taunt her badly to upset her because the Lord hadn't given her any children.

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.

This went on for years. Whenever Hannah went to the Lord's Temple, Peninnah would taunt her until she cried and couldn't 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 you that you weep? and why do you not eat? and why does your heart strike you? [am] I not better to you than ten children?

“Hannah, what are you crying for?” her husband Elkanah would ask. “Why don't you eat? Why are you so upset? Aren't I 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.

One time when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to the Temple. Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the entrance to the Lord's Temple.

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

She was terribly upset, and prayed to the Lord as she cried and cried.

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

She made a vow, asking, “Lord Almighty, if only you would pay attention to the suffering of your servant and remember me, and not forget me but give me a son, then I will dedicate him to the Lord for his whole life, and no razor shall ever touch 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 went 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 head, and though her lips were moving, her voice made no sound. Eli thought she must be drunk.

14 And the servant of Heli said to her, How long will you be drunken? take away your wine from you, and go out from the presence of the Lord.

“Do you have to come here drunk?” he asked. “Get rid of 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.

“It's not that, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I'm a very miserable woman. I haven't been drinking wine or beer; I'm just pouring my heart out to the Lord.

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

Please don't think I'm a bad woman! I have been praying because of all my troubles and grief.”

17 And Heli answered and said to her, Go in peace: the God of Israel give you all your petition, which you have asked of him.

“Go in peace, and may the God of Israel give you what you have asked him for,” Eli replied.

18 And she said, Your handmaid has found favor in your 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.

“Thank you for your kindness to your servant,” she said. Then she went on her way, had something to eat, and she didn't look sad any more.

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.

Elkanah and Hannah got up early the next morning to worship the Lord and then they went home to Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord honored her request.

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.

In due course she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”

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.

Elkanah and all his family went to make the yearly 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. She told her husband, “Once the boy is weaned I will take him to be presented to the Lord and to remain there forever.”

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

“Do as you see fit,” her husband Elkanah replied. “Stay here until you have weaned him. May the Lord fulfill what he has said.” So Hannah stayed behind 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.

When she had weaned him, Hannah took the boy with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a wineskin containing wine. Even though the boy was young, she brought him to the Lord's Temple at Shiloh.

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

After they had slaughtered the bull, they presented the boy to Eli.

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

“Please, my lord,” said Hannah, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here with 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 given me what I asked him for,

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

now I'm giving him to the Lord. As long as he lives he will be dedicated to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.