I Samuel 1

¹Now 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:

²And he had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah: and Peninnah was the mother of children, but Hannah had no children.

³Now 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.

⁴And 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:

⁵But to Hannah he gave one part, though Hannah was very dear to him, but the Lord had not let her have children.

⁶And the other wife did everything possible to make her unhappy, because the Lord had not let her have children;

⁷And 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.

⁸Then 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?

⁹So 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.

¹⁰And with grief in her soul, weeping bitterly, she made her prayer to the Lord.

¹¹And 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.

¹²Now while she was a long time in prayer before the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth.

¹³For 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.

¹⁴And Eli said to her, How long are you going to be the worse for drink? Put away the effects of your wine from you.

¹⁵And 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.

¹⁶Do not take your servant to be a good-for-nothing woman: for my words have come from my stored-up sorrow and pain.

¹⁷Then 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.

¹⁸And 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.

¹⁹And 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.

²⁰Now 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.

²¹And 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.

²²But 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.

²³And 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.

²⁴Then 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.

²⁵And when they had made an offering of the ox, they took the child to Eli.

²⁶And 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:

²⁷My prayer was for this child; and the Lord has given him to me in answer to my request:

²⁸So I have given him to the Lord; for all his life he is the Lord's. Then he gave the Lord worship there.

I Samuel 1

¹Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite:

²and he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³This man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests to the Lord, were there.

⁴When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

⁵but to Hannah he gave a double portion; for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had shut up her womb.

⁶Her rival taunted her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had shut up her womb.

⁷As he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she taunted her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

⁸Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

⁹So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drank. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the Lord's temple.

¹⁰She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly.

¹¹She vowed a vow, and said, "Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid a boy, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head."

¹²It happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli saw her mouth.

¹³Now Hannah spoke in her heart. Only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴Eli said to her, "How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you."

¹⁵Hannah answered, "No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before the Lord.

¹⁶Do not count your handmaid as a worthless woman; for I have been speaking out of the abundance of my distress and my anguish."

¹⁷Then Eli answered, "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of him."

¹⁸She said, "Let your handmaid find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way, and ate; and her facial expression wasn't sad any more.

¹⁹They rose up in the morning early, and worshiped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her.

²⁰It happened, when the time had come, that Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked him of the Lord."

²¹The man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.

²²But Hannah did not go up; for she said to her husband, "Not until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and stay there forever."

²³Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems good to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only may the Lord establish his word." So the woman waited and nursed her son, until she weaned him.

²⁴When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three year old bull, and one ephah of meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him to the Lord's house in Shiloh. The child was young.

²⁵They killed the bull, and brought the child to Eli.

²⁶She said, "Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord.

²⁷For this child I prayed; and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of him.

²⁸Therefore also I have granted him to the Lord. As long as he lives he is granted to the Lord." He worshiped the Lord there.