1 Samuel 1:21-2:10

New International Version

Hannah Dedicates Samuel

²¹When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual^(A) sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow,^(B) ²²Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present^(C) him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”^[a]

²³“Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good^(D) his^[b] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned^(E) him.

²⁴After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,^[c]^(F) an ephah^[d] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. ²⁵When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, ²⁶and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷I prayed^(G) for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life^(H) he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Then Hannah prayed and said:^(I)

“My heart rejoices^(J) in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn^[e]^(K) is lifted high.
My mouth boasts^(L) over my enemies,^(M)
for I delight in your deliverance.

²“There is no one holy^(N) like^(O) the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock^(P) like our God.

³“Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,^(Q)
for the Lord is a God who knows,^(R)
and by him deeds^(S) are weighed.^(T)

⁴“The bows of the warriors are broken,^(U)
    but those who stumbled are armed with strength.^(V)
⁵Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
    but those who were hungry^(W) are hungry no more.
She who was barren^(X) has borne seven children,
    but she who has had many sons pines away.

⁶“The Lord brings death and makes alive;^(Y)
    he brings down to the grave and raises up.^(Z)
⁷The Lord sends poverty and wealth;^(AA)
    he humbles and he exalts.^(AB)
⁸He raises^(AC) the poor^(AD) from the dust^(AE)
    and lifts the needy^(AF) from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.^(AG)

“For the foundations^(AH) of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them he has set the world.
⁹He will guard the feet^(AI) of his faithful servants,^(AJ)
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.^(AK)

“It is not by strength^(AL) that one prevails;
¹⁰ those who oppose the Lord will be broken.^(AM)
The Most High will thunder^(AN) from heaven;
the Lord will judge^(AO) the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength^(AP) to his king
and exalt the horn^(AQ) of his anointed.”

Footnotes

1 Samuel 1:22 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls always. I have dedicated him as a Nazirite—all the days of his life.”
1 Samuel 1:23 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac your
1 Samuel 1:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; Masoretic Text with three bulls
1 Samuel 1:24 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
1 Samuel 2:1 Horn here symbolizes strength; also in verse 10.