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1 Samuel 1-2
New Living Translation
1 Samuel 1-2
New Living Translation
Elkanah and His Family
1 There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph[a] in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. 2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.
3 Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the Lord at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas. 4 On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children. 5 And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion[b] because the Lord had given her no children. 6 So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. 7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle.[c] Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.
8 “Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?”
Hannah’s Prayer for a Son
9 Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle.[d] 10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. 11 And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.[e]”
12 As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!”
15 “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. 16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”
17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”
18 “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.
Samuel’s Birth and Dedication
19 The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, 20 and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[f] for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”
21 The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, “Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the Lord permanently.[g]”
23 “Whatever you think is best,” Elkanah agreed. “Stay here for now, and may the Lord help you keep your promise.[h]” So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned.
24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull[i] for the sacrifice and a basket[j] of flour and some wine. 25 After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. 26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they[k] worshiped the Lord there.
Hannah’s Prayer of Praise
2 Then Hannah prayed:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord!
The Lord has made me strong.[l]
Now I have an answer for my enemies;
I rejoice because you rescued me.
2 No one is holy like the Lord!
There is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 “Stop acting so proud and haughty!
Don’t speak with such arrogance!
For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done;
he will judge your actions.
4 The bow of the mighty is now broken,
and those who stumbled are now strong.
5 Those who were well fed are now starving,
and those who were starving are now full.
The childless woman now has seven children,
and the woman with many children wastes away.
6 The Lord gives both death and life;
he brings some down to the grave[m] but raises others up.
7 The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
he brings some down and lifts others up.
8 He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
placing them in seats of honor.
For all the earth is the Lord’s,
and he has set the world in order.
9 “He will protect his faithful ones,
but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.
10 Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered.
He thunders against them from heaven;
the Lord judges throughout the earth.
He gives power to his king;
he increases the strength[n] of his anointed one.”
11 Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.
Eli’s Wicked Sons
12 Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the Lord 13 or for their duties as priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, 14 the servant would stick the fork into the pot and demand that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at Shiloh were treated this way. 15 Sometimes the servant would come even before the animal’s fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that it could be used for roasting.
16 The man offering the sacrifice might reply, “Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first.” Then the servant would demand, “No, give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” 17 So the sin of these young men was very serious in the Lord’s sight, for they treated the Lord’s offerings with contempt.
18 But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the Lord. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest.[o] 19 Each year his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice. 20 Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord.[p]” 21 And the Lord blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
22 Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle.[q] 23 Eli said to them, “I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning? 24 You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the Lord’s people are not good. 25 If someone sins against another person, God[r] can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede?” But Eli’s sons wouldn’t listen to their father, for the Lord was already planning to put them to death.
26 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the Lord and with the people.
A Warning for Eli’s Family
27 One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: “I revealed myself[s] to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. 28 I chose your ancestor Aaron[t] from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest[u] as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests. 29 So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!
30 “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi[v] would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. 31 The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. 32 You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. 33 The few not cut off from serving at my altar will survive, but only so their eyes can go blind and their hearts break, and their children will die a violent death.[w] 34 And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!
35 “Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever. 36 Then all of your surviving family will bow before him, begging for money and food. ‘Please,’ they will say, ‘give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat.’”
Footnotes
- 1:1 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads in Ramathaim-zophim; compare 1:19.
- 1:5 Or And because he loved Hannah, he would give her a choice portion. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 1:7 Hebrew the house of the Lord; also in 1:24.
- 1:9 Hebrew the Temple of the Lord.
- 1:11 Some manuscripts add He will drink neither wine nor intoxicants.
- 1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew term for “asked of God” or “heard by God.”
- 1:22 Some manuscripts add I will offer him as a Nazirite for all time.
- 1:23 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads may the Lord keep his promise.
- 1:24a As in Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek and Syriac versions; Masoretic Text reads three bulls.
- 1:24b Hebrew and an ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters].
- 1:28 Hebrew he.
- 2:1 Hebrew has exalted my horn.
- 2:6 Hebrew to Sheol.
- 2:10 Hebrew he exalts the horn.
- 2:18 Hebrew He wore a linen ephod.
- 2:20 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads this one he requested of the Lord.
- 2:22 Hebrew Tent of Meeting. Some manuscripts lack this entire sentence.
- 2:25 Or the judges.
- 2:27 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads Did I reveal myself.
- 2:28a Hebrew your father.
- 2:28b Hebrew an ephod.
- 2:30 Hebrew that your house and your father’s house.
- 2:33 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version, which read die by the sword; Masoretic Text reads die like mortals.
1 Samuel 1-2
New International Version
1 Samuel 1-2
New International Version
The Birth of Samuel
1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim,(A) a Zuphite[a](B) from the hill country(C) of Ephraim,(D) whose name was Elkanah(E) son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives;(F) one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
3 Year after year(G) this man went up from his town to worship(H) and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh,(I) where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli,(J) were priests of the Lord. 4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice,(K) he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.(L) 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion(M) because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.(N) 6 Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.(O) 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.(P) 8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?(Q)”
9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house.(R) 10 In her deep anguish(S) Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow,(T) saying, “Lord Almighty(U), if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember(V) me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life,(W) and no razor(X) will ever be used on his head.”
12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled.(Y) I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring(Z) out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”(AA)
17 Eli answered, “Go in peace,(AB) and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.(AC)”
18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.(AD)” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.(AE)
19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah.(AF) Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered(AG) her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.(AH) She named(AI) him Samuel,[b](AJ) saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
Hannah Dedicates Samuel
21 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual(AK) sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow,(AL) 22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present(AM) him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”[c]
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(AN) his[d] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned(AO) him.
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,[e](AP) an ephah[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and 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. 27 I prayed(AQ) for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life(AR) he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
Hannah’s Prayer
2 Then Hannah prayed and said:(AS)
“My heart rejoices(AT) in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn[g](AU) is lifted high.
My mouth boasts(AV) over my enemies,(AW)
for I delight in your deliverance.
2 “There is no one holy(AX) like(AY) the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock(AZ) like our God.
3 “Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,(BA)
for the Lord is a God who knows,(BB)
and by him deeds(BC) are weighed.(BD)
4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,(BE)
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.(BF)
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry(BG) are hungry no more.
She who was barren(BH) has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
6 “The Lord brings death and makes alive;(BI)
he brings down to the grave and raises up.(BJ)
7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth;(BK)
he humbles and he exalts.(BL)
8 He raises(BM) the poor(BN) from the dust(BO)
and lifts the needy(BP) from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.(BQ)
“For the foundations(BR) of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them he has set the world.
9 He will guard the feet(BS) of his faithful servants,(BT)
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.(BU)
“It is not by strength(BV) that one prevails;
10 those who oppose the Lord will be broken.(BW)
The Most High will thunder(BX) from heaven;
the Lord will judge(BY) the ends of the earth.
11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah,(CB) but the boy ministered(CC) before the Lord under Eli the priest.
Eli’s Wicked Sons
12 Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard(CD) for the Lord. 13 Now it was the practice(CE) of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat(CF) was being boiled 14 and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. 15 But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
16 If the person said to him, “Let the fat(CG) be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
17 This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they[h] were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.(CH)
18 But Samuel was ministering(CI) before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.(CJ) 19 Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual(CK) sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed(CL) for and gave to[i] the Lord.” Then they would go home. 21 And the Lord was gracious to Hannah;(CM) she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew(CN) up in the presence of the Lord.
22 Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything(CO) his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women(CP) who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. 24 No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. 25 If one person sins against another, God[j] may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will(CQ) intercede(CR) for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.
26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow(CS) in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.(CT)
Prophecy Against the House of Eli
27 Now a man of God(CU) came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? 28 I chose(CV) your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense,(CW) and to wear an ephod(CX) in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings(CY) presented by the Israelites. 29 Why do you[k] scorn my sacrifice and offering(CZ) that I prescribed for my dwelling?(DA) Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’
30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.(DB)’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor,(DC) but those who despise(DD) me will be disdained.(DE) 31 The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age,(DF) 32 and you will see distress(DG) in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age.(DH) 33 Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants(DI) will die in the prime of life.
34 “‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign(DJ) to you—they will both die(DK) on the same day.(DL) 35 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest,(DM) who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed(DN) one always. 36 Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead,(DO) “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.(DP)”’”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 1:1 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 6:26-27,33-35; or from Ramathaim Zuphim.
- 1 Samuel 1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard by God.
- 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.
- 1 Samuel 2:17 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; Masoretic Text people
- 1 Samuel 2:20 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text and asked from
- 1 Samuel 2:25 Or the judges
- 1 Samuel 2:29 The Hebrew is plural.
New Living Translation (NLT)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.