The Family of Elkanah at Shiloh

1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² He had two wives. The name of one was Hannah. The name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ³ This man would go from his city each year to worship and to give gifts on the altar in Shiloh to the Lord of All. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the Lord’s religious leaders there. ⁴ On the day when Elkanah killed animals on the altar in worship, he would give part of the gift to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But he would give twice as much to Hannah, for he loved Hannah. But the Lord had made it so she could not have children. ⁶ Peninnah would try to make her very angry, because the Lord would not let her have children. ⁷ So it happened, year after year, each time Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, Peninnah would make her angry. Hannah cried and would not eat. ⁸ Then her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why are you not eating, and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

Hannah and Eli

⁹ Then Hannah stood up after they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh. Eli the religious leader was sitting on the seat by the door of the house of the Lord. ¹⁰ Hannah was very troubled. She prayed to the Lord and cried with sorrow. ¹¹ Then she made a promise and said, “O Lord of All, be sure to look on the trouble of Your woman servant, and remember me. Do not forget Your woman servant, but give me a son. If You will, then I will give him to the Lord all his life. And no hair will ever be cut from his head.”

¹² While she kept praying to the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ Hannah was speaking in her heart. Her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she had drunk too much. ¹⁴ Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put wine away from you.” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have not drunk wine or strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not think of your woman servant as a woman of no worth. For I have been speaking out of much trouble and pain in my spirit.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered, “Go in peace. May the God of Israel do what you have asked of Him.” ¹⁸ And Hannah said, “Let your woman servant find favor in your eyes.” So she went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Samuel Is Born

¹⁹ The family got up early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord. Then they returned to their house in Ramah. Elkanah lay with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ The Lord made it possible for her to have a child, and when the time came she gave birth to a son. She gave him the name Samuel, saying, “I have asked the Lord for him.”

²¹ Then Elkanah went up with all those of his house to give the Lord the gift on the altar in worship as he did each year, and to pay what he had promised. ²² But Hannah did not go. For she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child no longer needs to be nursed. Then I will bring him before the Lord, to stay there forever.” ²³ Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what you think is best. Stay here until he no longer needs to be nursed. Only may the Lord do as He has said.” So Hannah stayed and nursed her son until he no longer needed to be nursed. ²⁴ When she had finished nursing him, she took him with her to the house of the Lord in Shiloh, and the child was young. ²⁵ She brought a three year old bull, one basket of flour and a jar of wine also. Then they killed the bull, and brought the boy to Eli. ²⁶ Hannah said, “O, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this boy, and the Lord has given me what I asked of Him. ²⁸ So I have given him to the Lord. He is given to the Lord as long as he lives.” And they worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Then Hannah prayed and said, “My heart is happy in the Lord. My strength is honored in the Lord. My mouth speaks with strength against those who hate me, because I have joy in Your saving power. ² There is no one holy like the Lord. For sure, there is no one other than You. There is no rock like our God. ³ Speak no more in your pride. Do not let proud talk come out of your mouth. For the Lord is a God Who knows. Actions are weighed by Him. ⁴ The bows of the powerful are broken. But the weak are dressed in strength. ⁵ Those who were full go out to work for bread. But those who were hungry are filled. She who could not give birth has given birth to seven. But she who has many children has become weak. ⁶ The Lord kills and brings to life. He brings down to the grave, and He raises up. ⁷ The Lord makes poor and makes rich. He brings low and He lifts up. ⁸ He lifts the poor from the dust. He lifts those in need from the ashes. He makes them sit with rulers and receive a seat of honor. For what holds the earth belongs to the Lord. He has set the world in its place. ⁹ He watches over the steps of His good people. But the sinful ones will be made quiet in darkness. For a man will not win by strength. ¹⁰ Those who fight with the Lord will be broken to pieces. He will thunder in heaven against them. The Lord will decide about all people to the ends of the earth. He will give strength to His king. He will give power to His chosen one.”

¹¹ Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy served the Lord with Eli the religious leader.

Eli’s Sons

¹² The sons of Eli were men of no worth. They did not know the Lord. ¹³ This is the way the religious leaders acted toward the people. When any man brought an animal to give to the Lord, the religious leader’s servant would come with a meat-hook in his hand, while the meat was hot. ¹⁴ Then he would put it in the pot. The religious leader would take for himself all that the meat-hook brought up. They did this to all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh. ¹⁵ And before they burned the fat, the religious leader’s servant would come and say to the man who brought the gift in worship, “Give meat for the religious leader to make ready. For he will not take boiled meat from you, but only meat that has just been killed.” ¹⁶ But if the man says to him, “Let them burn the fat first, then take as much as you want,” then the religious leader’s servant would say, “No, give it to me now; and if not, I will take it from you against your will.” ¹⁷ So the sin of the young men was very bad before the Lord. For the men hated the gift of the Lord.

Samuel Serves the Lord at Shiloh

¹⁸ Now Samuel was serving the Lord, even as a boy, wearing a linen vest. ¹⁹ Each year his mother would make him a little coat. She would bring it to him when she came with her husband to bring the gift in worship each year. ²⁰ Then Eli would pray that good would come to Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one she gave to the Lord.” Then they would return to their home. ²¹ And the Lord visited Hannah. She gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up to serve the Lord.

The Future of Eli’s Sons

²² Now Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the door of the meeting tent. ²³ And he said to them, “Why do you do such things, the sinful things I hear from all these people? ²⁴ No, my sons, the news is not good which I hear from the Lord’s people. ²⁵ If one man sins against another, God will help make peace for him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who can make peace for him?” Yet they would not listen to what their father said, for it was the Lord’s will to kill them. ²⁶ Now the boy Samuel grew and was in favor both with the Lord and with men.

²⁷ Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says. ‘Did I not let Myself be known to those of your father’s family when they were in Egypt being made to work for Pharaoh’s house? ²⁸ Did I not choose them from all the families of Israel to be My religious leaders, to go up to My altar, to burn special perfume, and to wear a linen vest before Me? Did I not give all the gifts made by fire of the people of Israel to the family of your father? ²⁹ Why do you show no respect to My gifts which I have asked for, and honor your sons more than Me? You make yourselves fat with the best part of every gift given in worship by My people Israel.’ ³⁰ So the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I did promise that those of your family and the family of your father should walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May this be far from Me. For I will honor those who honor Me. And those who hate Me will not be honored. ³¹ See, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s family. So there will not be an old man in your family. ³² You will see the trouble of My family, even in all the good I do for Israel. And an old man will not be in your family forever. ³³ But I will not destroy every man of yours from My altar. Some will be left to cry and be filled with sorrow. But all the children of your family will die in their best years. ³⁴ This will be the special thing that you will see. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will both die on the same day. ³⁵ I will raise up for Myself a faithful religious leader who will act by what is in My heart and mind. I will build him a family to last. And he will walk before My chosen one forever. ³⁶ Everyone who is left in your family will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and say, “I beg you, put me in one of the religious leader’s places so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

Samuel’s Call

3 Now the boy Samuel was working for the Lord with Eli. There were few words from the Lord given in those days, and there were not many special dreams. ² At that time Eli was lying down in his own place. His eyes had become weak and he could not see well. ³ The lamp of God had not gone out yet. And Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord where the special box of God was. ⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel, and Samuel said, “Here I am.” ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call you. Lie down again.” So Samuel went and lay down. ⁶ The Lord called again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Lie down again.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not know the Lord yet. And the Word of the Lord had not been made known to him. ⁸ The Lord called Samuel again for the third time. He got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down. If He calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Then the Lord came and stood and called as He did the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” ¹¹ The Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do a thing in Israel which will make both ears of everyone who hears it feel strange. ¹² On that day I will do all I have said I will do against the family of Eli. ¹³ I have told him that I will punish his family forever for the sin he knew about. Because his sons brought the sin upon themselves, and Eli did not stop them. ¹⁴ So I swear to the family of Eli that the sin of his family will not be paid for with gifts given on the altar forever.”

¹⁵ Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the special dream. ¹⁶ Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And Samuel said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ Eli said, “What did the Lord tell you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more, if you hide anything from me of all He said to you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And Eli said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what is good in His eyes.”

¹⁹ Samuel grew. And the Lord was with him and made everything he said come true. ²⁰ All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had become a man of God. ²¹ The Lord came again to Shiloh. For the Lord made Himself known to Samuel at Shiloh, by the Word of the Lord.