1 Samuel 1:21-2:17

English Standard Version

Samuel Given to the Lord

²¹The man Elkanah and all his house ^(A)went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. ²²But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord ^(B)and dwell there forever.” ²³^(C)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; ^(D)only, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴And when she had weaned him, ^(E)she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,^[a] an ephah^[b] of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to ^(F)the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. ²⁵Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. ²⁶And she said, “Oh, my lord! ^(G)As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. ²⁷For this child I prayed, ^(H)and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. ²⁸Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”

^(I)And he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah's Prayer

2 And Hannah prayed and said,

^(J)“My heart exults in the Lord;
^(K)my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because ^(L)I rejoice in your salvation.

²^(M)“There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is ^(N)no rock like our God.
³Talk no more so very proudly,
    let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.
⁴^(O)The bows of the mighty are broken,
    but the feeble bind on strength.
⁵Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
    but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
^(P)The barren has borne seven,
    ^(Q)but she who has many children is forlorn.
⁶^(R)The Lord kills and brings to life;
    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
⁷^(S)The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
    ^(T)he brings low and he exalts.
⁸^(U)He raises up the poor from the dust;
    he lifts the needy from the ash heap
^(V)to make them sit with princes
    and inherit a seat of honor.
^(W)For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
    and on them he has set the world.

⁹^(X)“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
    but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
    for not by might shall a man prevail.
¹⁰^(Y)The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
    ^(Z)against them he will thunder in heaven.
^(AA)The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
    he will give strength to his king
    ^(AB)and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went home ^(AC)to Ramah. ^(AD)And the boy^[c] was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

Eli's Worthless Sons

¹²Now the sons of Eli were ^(AE)worthless men. ^(AF)They did not know the Lord. ¹³The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, ¹⁴and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵Moreover, ^(AG)before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” ¹⁶And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷Thus the sin of the young men was very great ^(AH)in the sight of the Lord, ^(AI)for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

Footnotes

1 Samuel 1:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text three bulls
1 Samuel 1:24 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
1 Samuel 2:11 Hebrew na‘ar can be rendered boy (2:11, 18, 21, 26; 3:1, 8), servant (2:13, 15), or young man (2:17), depending on the context