1 Samuel 1

1 And there is a certain man of Ramathaim-Zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name [is] Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, and Ephrathite,

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite of the hill-country of Ephraim, named Elkanah; he was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite:

2 and he hath two wives, the name of the one [is] Hannah, and the name of the second Peninnah, and Peninnah hath children, and Hannah hath no children.

And he had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah: and Peninnah was the mother of children, but Hannah had no children.

3 And that man hath gone up out of his city from time to time, to bow himself, and to sacrifice, before Jehovah of Hosts, in Shiloh, and there [are] two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests to Jehovah.

Now this man went up from his town every year to give worship and to make offerings to the Lord of armies in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.

4 And the day cometh, and Elkanah sacrificeth, and he hath given to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions,

And when the day came for Elkanah to make his offering, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and daughters, their part of the feast:

5 and to Hannah he giveth a certain portion — double, for he hath loved Hannah, and Jehovah hath shut her womb;

But to Hannah he gave one part, though Hannah was very dear to him, but the Lord had not let her have children.

6 and her adversity hath also provoked her greatly, so as to make her tremble, for Jehovah hath shut up her womb.

And the other wife did everything possible to make her unhappy, because the Lord had not let her have children;

7 And so he doth year by year, from the time of her going up into the house of Jehovah, so it provoketh her, and she weepeth, and doth not eat.

And year by year, whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, she kept on attacking her, so that Hannah gave herself up to weeping and would take no food.

8 And Elkanah her husband saith to her, 'Hannah, why weepest thou? and why dost thou not eat? and why is thy heart afflicted? am I not better to thee than ten sons?'

Then her husband Elkanah said to her, Hannah, why are you weeping? and why are you taking no food? why is your heart troubled? am I not more to you than ten sons?

9 And Hannah riseth after eating in Shiloh, and after drinking, and Eli the priest is sitting on the throne by the side-post of the temple of Jehovah.

So after they had taken food and wine in the guest room, Hannah got up. Now Eli the priest was seated by the pillars of the doorway of the Temple of the Lord.

10 And she is bitter in soul, and prayeth unto Jehovah, and weepeth greatly,

And with grief in her soul, weeping bitterly, she made her prayer to the Lord.

11 and voweth a vow, and saith, 'Jehovah of Hosts, if Thou dost certainly look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and hast remembered me, and dost not forget Thy handmaid, and hast given to Thy handmaid seed of men — then I have given him to Jehovah all days of his life, and a razor doth not go up upon his head.'

And she made an oath, and said, O Lord of armies, if you will truly take note of the sorrow of your servant, not turning away from me but keeping me in mind, and will give me a man-child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.

12 And it hath been, when she multiplied praying before Jehovah, that Eli is watching her mouth,

Now while she was a long time in prayer before the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth.

13 and Hannah, she is speaking to her heart, only her lips are moving, and her voice is not heard, and Eli reckoneth her to be drunken.

For Hannah's prayer came from her heart, and though her lips were moving she made no sound: so it seemed to Eli that she was overcome with wine.

14 And Eli saith unto her, 'Until when are thou drunken? turn aside thy wine from thee.'

And Eli said to her, How long are you going to be the worse for drink? Put away the effects of your wine from you.

15 And Hannah answereth and saith, 'No, my lord, A woman sharply pained in spirit I [am], and wine and strong drink I have not drunk, and I pour out my soul before Jehovah;

And Hannah, answering him, said, No, my lord, I am a woman whose spirit is broken with sorrow: I have not taken wine or strong drink, but I have been opening my heart before the Lord.

16 put not thy handmaid before a daughter of worthlessness, for from the abundance of my meditation, and of my provocation, I have spoken hitherto.'

Do not take your servant to be a good-for-nothing woman: for my words have come from my stored-up sorrow and pain.

17 And Eli answereth and saith, 'Go in peace, and the God of Israel doth give thy petition which thou hast asked of Him.'

Then Eli said to her, Go in peace: and may the God of Israel give you an answer to the prayer you have made to him.

18 And she saith, 'Let thy handmaid find grace in thine eyes;' and the woman goeth on her way, and eateth, and her countenance hath not been [sad] for it any more.

And she said, May your servant have grace in your eyes. So the woman went away, and took part in the feast, and her face was no longer sad.

19 And they rise early in the morning, and bow themselves before Jehovah, and turn back, and come in unto their house in Ramah, and Elkanah knoweth Hannah his wife, and Jehovah remembereth her;

And early in the morning they got up, and after worshipping before the Lord they went back to Ramah, to their house: and Elkanah had connection with his wife; and the Lord kept her in mind.

20 and it cometh to pass, at the revolution of the days, that Hannah conceiveth, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Samuel, 'for, from Jehovah I have asked him.'

Now the time came when Hannah, being with child, gave birth to a son; and she gave him the name Samuel, Because, she said, I made a prayer to the Lord for him.

21 And the man Elkanah goeth up, and all his house, to sacrifice to Jehovah the sacrifice of the days, and his vow.

And the man Elkanah with all his family went up to make the year's offering to the Lord, and to give effect to his oath.

22 And Hannah hath not gone up, for she said to her husband, 'Till the youth is weaned — then I have brought him in, and he hath appeared before the face of Jehovah, and dwelt there — unto the age.'

But Hannah did not go, for she said to her husband, I will not go till the child has been taken from the breast, and then I will take him with me and put him before the Lord, where he may be for ever.

23 And Elkanah her husband saith to her, 'Do that which is good in thine eyes; abide till thy weaning him; only, Jehovah establish His word;' and the woman abideth and suckleth her son till she hath weaned him,

And her husband Elkanah said to her, Do whatever seems right to you, but not till you have taken him from the breast; only may the Lord do as he has said. So the woman, waiting there, gave her son milk till he was old enough to be taken from the breast.

24 and she causeth him to go up with her when she hath weaned him, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and she bringeth him into the house of Jehovah at Shiloh, and the youth [is but] a youth.

Then when she had done so, she took him with her, with a three-year old ox and an ephah of meal and a skin full of wine, and took him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh: now the child was still very young.

25 And they slaughter the bullock, and bring in the youth unto Eli,

And when they had made an offering of the ox, they took the child to Eli.

26 and she saith, 'O, my lord, thy soul liveth! my lord, I [am] the woman who stood with thee in this [place], to pray unto Jehovah;

And she said, O my lord, as your soul is living, my lord, I am that woman who was making a prayer to the Lord here by your side:

27 for this youth I prayed, and Jehovah doth give to me my petition which I asked of Him;

My prayer was for this child; and the Lord has given him to me in answer to my request:

28 and also I have caused him to be asked for Jehovah, all the days that he hath lived — he is asked for Jehovah;' and he boweth himself there before Jehovah.

So I have given him to the Lord; for all his life he is the Lord's. Then he gave the Lord worship there.