< 1 Samuel 2 >
1 And Anna worschipide, and seide, Myn herte fulli ioiede in the Lord, and myn horn is reisid in my God; my mouth is alargid on myn enemyes, for Y was glad in thin helthe.
Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in Yahweh. My horn is exalted in Yahweh. My mouth boasts over my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.
2 Noon is hooli as the Lord is; `for noon other is, outakun thee, and noon is strong as oure God.
There is no one holy like Yahweh, for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.
3 Nyle ye multiplie to speke hiye thingis, and haue glorie; elde thingis go awey fro youre mouth; for God is Lord of kunnyngis, and thouytis ben maad redi to hym.
Boast no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come out of your mouth. For Yahweh is a God of knowledge; by him actions are weighed.
4 The bouwe of strong men is ouercomun, and sijk men ben gird with strengthe.
The bow of the mighty men are broken, but those who stumble put on strength like a belt.
5 Men fillid bifore settiden hem silf to hire for looues, and hungri men ben fillid; while the bareyn womman childide ful manye, and sche that hadde many sones, was sijke.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread; those who were hungry have stopped being hungry. Even the barren one gives birth to seven, but the woman who has many children languishes.
6 The Lord sleeth, and quikeneth; he ledith forth to hellis, and bryngith ayen. (Sheol )
Yahweh kills and brings to life. He brings down to Sheol and raises up. (Sheol )
7 The Lord makith pore, and makith riche; he makith low, and reisith.
Yahweh makes some people poor and some rich. He humbles, but he also lifts up.
8 He reisith a nedi man fro poudur, and `he reisith a pore man fro dryt, that he sitte with princes, and holde the seete of glorie; for the endis of erthe ben of the Lord, and he hath set the world on tho.
He raises up the poor out of the dust. He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit the seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh's and he has set the world upon them.
9 He schal kepe `the feet of hise seyntis, and wickid men schulen be stille to gidere in derknessis; for a man schal not be maad strong in his owne strengthe.
He will guard the feet of his faithful people, but the wicked will be put to silence in darkness, for no one will prevail by strength.
10 Aduersaries of the Lord schulen drede hym, and in heuenes he schal thundre on hem; the Lord schal deme the endis of erthe, and he schal yyue lordschip to his kyng, and he schal enhaunse the horn, `that is, power, of his Crist.
Those who oppose Yahweh will be broken to pieces; he will thunder against them from heaven. Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
11 And Helcana yede in to Ramatha, in to his hows; forsothe the child was seruaunt in the siyt of the Lord bifor the face of Ely the preest.
Then Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house. The child served Yahweh in the presence of Eli the priest.
12 Forsothe the sones of Hely weren sones of Belial,
Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know Yahweh.
13 and knewen not the Lord, nether the office of preestis to the puple; but who euer hadde offrid sacrifice, the child of the preest cam, while the fleischis weren in sething, and he hadde a fleischhook with thre teeth in his hond;
The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand, while the meat was boiling.
14 and he sente it in to the `grete vessel of stoon, ethir in to the caudrun, ethir in to the pot, ethir in to the panne; and what euer thing the fleischhook reiside, the preest took to hym silf; so thei diden to al Israel of men comynge in to Silo.
He would stick it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. They did this in Shiloh with all the Israelites that came there.
15 Yhe bifor that `the sones of Hely brenten the ynnere fatnesse, the `child of the preest cam, and seyde to the offerere, Yyue `thou fleisch to me, that Y sethe to the preest; for Y schal not take of thee sodun fleisch, but raw.
Worse, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat to roast for the priest; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
16 And `the offrere seide to hym, The ynnere fatnesse be brent first to day bi the custom, and take thou to thee hou myche euer thi soule desirith. Whiche answeride, and seide to hym, Nay, for thou schalt yyue now; ellis Y schal take bi violence.
If the man said to him, “They must burn the fat first, and then take as much as you want.” Then he would say, “No, you will give it me now; if not, I will take it by force.”
17 Therfor the synne of the children was ful greuouse bifor the Lord; for thei withdrowen men fro the `sacrifice of the Lord.
The sin of these young men was very great before Yahweh, for they despised Yahweh's offering.
18 `Forsothe Samuel, a child gird with a lynnun clooth, mynystride bifor the face of the Lord.
But Samuel served Yahweh as a child clothed with a linen ephod.
19 And his moder made to hym a litil coote, which sche brouyte in daies ordeyned, and stiede with hir hosebonde, that he schulde offre a solempne offryng, and his auow.
His mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
20 And Heli blesside Helcana and his wijf; and Heli seide `to hym, The Lord yelde to thee seed of this womman, for the yifte which thou hast youe to the Lord. And thei yeden in to her place.
Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May Yahweh give you more children by this woman because of the request she made of Yahweh.” Then they would return to their own home.
21 Therfor the Lord visitide Anna, and sche conseyuede, and childide thre sones and twei douytris. And the child Samuel was `magnyfied at the Lord.
Yahweh again helped Hannah, and again she became pregnant. She bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the child Samuel grew before Yahweh.
22 Forsothe Hely was ful eld, and he herde alle `thingis whiche hise sones diden in al Israel, and hou thei slepten with wymmen, that awaitiden at the dore of the tabernacle.
Now Eli was very old; he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
23 And he seide to hem, Whi doen ye siche thingis, the worste thingis whiche Y here of al the puple?
He said to them, “Why do you such things? For I hear of your evil actions from all these people.”
24 Nyle ye, my sones; it is not good fame, which Y here, that ye make the `puple of the Lord to do trespas.
No, my sons; for it is not a good report that I hear. You make Yahweh's people disobey.
25 If a man synneth ayens a man, God may be plesid to him; forsothe if a man synneth ayens the Lord, who schal preye for hym? And thei herden not the vois of her fadir, for God wolde sle hem.
“If one man sins against another, God will judge him; but if a man sins against Yahweh, who will speak for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, because Yahweh intended to kill them.
26 Forsothe the child Samuel profitide, and encreessyde, and pleside bothe God and men.
The child Samuel grew up, and increased in favor with Yahweh and also with men.
27 Sotheli a man of God cam to Hely, and seide to hym, The Lord seith these thingis, Whether Y was not schewid apertli to the hows of thi fadir, whanne he was in Egipt, in the hows of Farao?
Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Yahweh says, 'Did I not reveal myself to the house of your ancestor, when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house?
28 And Y chees hym of alle lynagis of Israel `in to preest to me, that he schulde stie to myn auter, and schulde brenne encense to me, and that he schulde bere bifor me preestis cloth; and Y yaf to `the hows of thi fadir alle thingis of the sacrifices of the sones of Israel.
I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, and to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me. I gave to the house of your ancestor all the offerings of the people of Israel made with fire.
29 Whi hast thou cast awey with the heele my sacrifice, and my yiftis, whiche Y comaundide to be offrid in the temple; and thou onouridst more thi sones than me, that ye eeten the principal partis of ech sacrifice of `Israel, my puple?
Why, then, do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings that I required in the place where I live? Why do you honor your sons above me by making yourselves fat with the best of every offering of my people Israel?'
30 Therfor the Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Y spekynge spak, that thin hows and `the hows of thi fadir schulde mynystre in my siyt til in to with outen ende; `now forsothe the Lord seith, Fer be this fro me; but who euere onourith me, Y schal glorifie hym; forsothe thei that dispisen me, schulen be vnnoble.
For Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, 'I promised that your house, and the house of your ancestor, should walk before me forever.' But now Yahweh says, 'Far be it from me to do this, for I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be lightly esteemed.
31 Lo! daies comen, and Y schal kitte awei thin arm, and the arm of the hows of thi fadir, that an eld man be not in thin hows.
See, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will no longer be any old man in your house.
32 And thou schalt se thin enemy in the temple, in alle prosperitees of Israel; and an eld man schal not be in thin hows in alle daies.
You will see distress in the place where I live. Although good will be given to Israel, there will no longer be any old man in your house.
33 Netheles Y schal not outerli take awei of thee a man fro myn auter, but that thin iyen faile, and thi soule faile; and greet part of thin hows schal die, whanne it schal come to mannus age.
Any one of you that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause your eyes to fail, and I will cause grief for your life. All the men born in your family will die.
34 Forsothe this schal be signe, that schal come to thi twei sones Ophym and Fynees, bothe schulen die in o dai.
This will be the sign for you that will come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.
35 And Y schal reise to me a feithful preest, that schal do bi myn herte and my soule; and Y schal bilde to hym a feithful hows, and he schal go bifore my Crist in alle daies.
I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who will do what is in my heart and in my soul. I will build him a sure house; and he will walk before my anointed king forever.
36 Forsothe it schal come, that who euer dwellith in thin hows, he come that `me preie for him, and that he offre a peny of siluer, and a cake of breed, and seie, Y biseche, suffre thou me to o `part of the preest, that Y ete a mussel of breed.
Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him, asking for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and will say, “Please assign me to one of the priests' positions so I can eat a piece of bread.”'”