1 Samuel 2
1 Then Hannah prayed, saying, “I rejoice in [what] you, [, have done]. I am strong [MET] because I belong to you. I (laugh at/ridicule) my enemies, because you, Yahweh have rescued me [from being taunted by them].
| ותתפלל חנה ותאמר עלץ לבי ביהוה רמה קרני ביהוה רחב פי על אויבי כי שמחתי בישועתך |
2 There is no one who is holy like you, Yahweh. There is no other god like you. There is no one like you, our God, who can protect us [as though you were putting us beneath] a huge rock [where we can hide from danger].
| אין קדוש כיהוה כי אין בלתך ואין צור כאלהינו |
3 [You people who oppose God], stop boasting! Yahweh is a God who knows [everything], and he will evaluate/judge everyone’s actions. So don’t speak so arrogantly!
| אל תרבו תדברו גבהה גבהה יצא עתק מפיכם כי אל דעות יהוה ולא (ולו) נתכנו עללות |
4 Yahweh, you break the bows/weapons of mighty soldiers, and you give strength to those who stumble [because of being weak].
| קשת גברים חתים ונכשלים אזרו חיל |
5 Many people who previously had plenty to eat, now have to work for other people [to earn money] to buy food, but many who were always hungry are not hungry any more. The woman who did not have any children before, now has given birth to many/seven children, and the woman who had many children before, now is very lonely [because they have all died].
| שבעים בלחם נשכרו ורעבים חדלו עד עקרה ילדה שבעה ורבת בנים אמללה |
6 Yahweh, you cause some people to die, and you restore some people who are almost dead. For some people, [it seems that they will soon] go to where the dead people are, but you cause them to become healthy again. (Sheol h7585)
| יהוה ממית ומחיה מוריד שאול ויעל (Sheol h7585) |
7 Yahweh, you cause some people to be poor and you cause some people to be rich, you humble some people and you honor some people.
| יהוה מוריש ומעשיר משפיל אף מרומם |
8 [Sometimes] you lift poor people up so that they are no longer [despondent, sitting in the dust, ] or sitting on heaps of ashes; you cause them to sit next to princes; you cause them to sit on chairs/thrones where people who are highly honored sit. Yahweh, you are the one who laid the foundations of the earth, and you have set the whole world on those foundations.
| מקים מעפר דל מאשפת ירים אביון להושיב עם נדיבים וכסא כבוד ינחלם כי ליהוה מצקי ארץ וישת עליהם תבל |
9 You will protect your loyal/faithful people [SYN], but you will cause the wicked to die [EUP] and descend to the dark [place where dead people are]. We do not defeat [our enemies] by our own strength;
| רגלי חסידו ישמר ורשעים בחשך ידמו כי לא בכח יגבר איש |
10 Yahweh, you will break into pieces those who oppose you. You will cause thunder in the sky to show that you (oppose/are angry with) them. Yahweh, you will judge [people everywhere, even those who live in] the most remote places on the earth. You will give strength to the king whom you will appoint, and give him great power [over his enemies].”
| יהוה יחתו מריבו עלו בשמים ירעם--יהוה ידין אפסי ארץ ויתן עז למלכו וירם קרן משיחו |
11 Then Elkanah [and his family] returned to Ramah, but Samuel, the little boy, stayed to help Eli the priest serve Yahweh.
| וילך אלקנה הרמתה על ביתו והנער היה משרת את יהוה את פני עלי הכהן |
12 Eli’s two [, who were also priests, ] were very wicked. They did not revere (OR, respect/obey) Yahweh.
| ובני עלי בני בליעל לא ידעו את יהוה |
13 While the people were boiling the meat from their sacrifices [in the huge pot at the temple], one of Eli’s sons, [would send his servant to come with a large three-pronged fork in his hand].
| ומשפט הכהנים את העם--כל איש זבח זבח ובא נער הכהן כבשל הבשר והמזלג שלש השנים בידו |
14 [He] would stick the fork into [the meat in] the pot, and whatever meat fastened onto the fork, he would take [and give it] to the priest who sent him. Eli’s sons did this to all the Israeli people who came to Shiloh [to offer sacrifices].
| והכה בכיור או בדוד או בקלחת או בפרור--כל אשר יעלה המזלג יקח הכהן בו ככה יעשו לכל ישראל הבאים שם בשלה |
15 Furthermore, before the fat [on the meat] was [cut off and] and burned [as a sacrifice to Yahweh], the servant of the priest would [sometimes] come to the man who was making the sacrifice and say to him, “Give me some meat [now to take] to the priest for him to roast! He wants raw meat; he does not want boiled meat.”
| גם בטרם יקטרון את החלב ובא נער הכהן ואמר לאיש הזבח תנה בשר לצלות לכהן ולא יקח ממך בשר מבשל כי אם חי |
16 If the man said to the servant, “Let the priests [cut off and] burn the fat first; then you can take what you want,” the servant would reply, “No, give it to me now; if you do not give it to me, I will take it forcefully!”
| ויאמר אליו האיש קטר יקטירון כיום החלב וקח לך כאשר תאוה נפשך ואמר לו (לא) כי עתה תתן--ואם לא לקחתי בחזקה |
17 Yahweh considered that the young [sons of Eli] were committing a very great sin, because they were treating very disrespectfully the offerings that were being given to Yahweh.
| ותהי חטאת הנערים גדולה מאד את פני יהוה כי נאצו האנשים את מנחת יהוה |
18 As for Samuel, who was still a very young boy, he continued to do work for Yahweh, wearing a little sacred linen vest [like the Supreme Priest wore].
| ושמואל משרת את פני יהוה נער חגור אפוד בד |
19 Each year his mother made a [new] little robe for him and took it to him when she went up [to Shiloh] with her husband to offer a sacrifice.
| ומעיל קטן תעשה לו אמו והעלתה לו מימים ימימה--בעלותה את אישה לזבח את זבח הימים |
20 Then Eli would [ask God to] bless Elkanah and his wife, and he would say to Elkanah, “I hope/desire that Yahweh will enable your wife to give birth to other children, to take the place of the one whom she dedicated to Yahweh.” Then Elkanah and his family would return home.
| וברך עלי את אלקנה ואת אשתו ואמר ישם יהוה לך זרע מן האשה הזאת תחת השאלה אשר שאל ליהוה והלכו למקומו |
21 And Yahweh was very kind to Hannah, and enabled her to give birth to three [other] sons and two daughters. Their son Samuel grew up while he was doing work for Yahweh [in the Sacred Tent].
| כי פקד יהוה את חנה ותהר ותלד שלשה בנים ושתי בנות ויגדל הנער שמואל עם יהוה |
22 Eli became very old. He often heard about all the [evil] things that his sons were doing to the Israeli people. He heard that they [sometimes] (slept with/had sex with) the women who worked at the entrance to the tent where [God] spoke to [his people].
| ועלי זקן מאד ושמע את כל אשר יעשון בניו לכל ישראל ואת אשר ישכבון את הנשים הצבאות פתח אהל מועד |
23 He said to them, “(It is terrible that you do such things!/Why do you do such things?) [RHQ] Many people keep telling me about the evil things that you do.
| ויאמר להם למה תעשון כדברים האלה אשר אנכי שמע את דבריכם רעים מאת כל העם אלה |
24 My sons, stop it! The reports [about you] that the people who belong to Yahweh tell others are terrible [EUP]!
| אל בני כי לוא טובה השמעה אשר אנכי שמע מעברים עם יהוה |
25 If one person sins against another person, God can (intercede/act as a referee) between them. But if someone sins against Yahweh, no one can [RHQ] (intercede/act as a referee) between them!” But Eli’s sons would not listen to what their father said. This was because Yahweh had decided [that someone should] them.
| אם יחטא איש לאיש ופללו אלהים ואם ליהוה יחטא איש מי יתפלל לו ולא ישמעו לקול אביהם כי חפץ יהוה להמיתם |
26 The boy Samuel continued to grow up, and the things that he did pleased Yahweh and the people.
| והנער שמואל הלך וגדל וטוב גם עם יהוה וגם עם אנשים |
27 One day, a prophet came to Eli and told him, “This is what Yahweh has told me: ‘When your ancestors were slaves of the king of Egypt, I appeared to Aaron.
| ויבא איש אלהים אל עלי ויאמר אליו כה אמר יהוה הנגלה נגליתי אל בית אביך בהיותם במצרים לבית פרעה |
28 From all the tribes of the Israeli people, I chose him [and his male descendants] to be priests for me. I appointed them to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear a sacred apron [as they worked] for me. And I declared that they could take [and eat some of the meat] that the Israeli people burned [on the altar].
| ובחר אתו מכל שבטי ישראל לי לכהן לעלות על מזבחי להקטיר קטרת לשאת אפוד לפני ואתנה לבית אביך את כל אשי בני ישראל |
29 So why do you show disrespect for the sacrifices and offerings that I commanded [the people to bring] to me [RHQ]? You are honoring your sons more than you are honoring me, by allowing them to get fat from eating the best parts of all the sacrifices that the Israeli people bring to me!’
| למה תבעטו בזבחי ובמנחתי אשר צויתי מעון ותכבד את בניך ממני להבריאכם מראשית כל מנחת ישראל לעמי |
30 “Therefore, this is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], declares: ‘I definitely promised that Aaron and his descendants would continue to serve [IDM] me forever.’ But now I declare this: ‘It will not continue like that! I will honor those who honor me, but I will despise those who despise me.
| לכן נאם יהוה אלהי ישראל אמור אמרתי ביתך ובית אביך יתהלכו לפני עד עולם ועתה נאם יהוה חלילה לי כי מכבדי אכבד ובזי יקלו |
31 Listen carefully! There will soon be a time when I will cause all the strong [young men] in your family to die. The result will be that no men in your family will [live long enough to] become old men.
| הנה ימים באים וגדעתי את זרעך ואת זרע בית אביך--מהיות זקן בביתך |
32 You will be distressed and envious as you see the blessings that I will give to [the other people in] Israel. And [I repeat that] no men in your family will ever live long enough to become old men.
| והבטת צר מעון בכל אשר ייטיב את ישראל ולא יהיה זקן בביתך כל הימים |
33 There is one of your descendants whom I will spare, and not prevent him from serving me as a priest. But he will become blind, and then he will always be sad and grieving. But all your other descendants will die violently.
| ואיש לא אכרית לך מעם מזבחי לכלות את עיניך ולאדיב את נפשך וכל מרבית ביתך ימותו אנשים |
34 And your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will both die on the same day. And that will prove to you [that all that I have said will come true/happen].
| וזה לך האות אשר יבא אל שני בניך--אל חפני ופינחס ביום אחד ימותו שניהם |
35 ‘have chosen another man to be my priest. He is one who will serve me faithfully: He will do everything I want [DOU] him to do. And I will enable him to have many descendants [IDM] who will be priests and will always serve me by helping the king whom I will choose.
| והקימתי לי כהן נאמן כאשר בלבבי ובנפשי יעשה ובניתי לו בית נאמן והתהלך לפני משיחי כל הימים |
36 All of your descendants who remain alive will have to go to that priest and ask him to give them money and food, and they will each have to say, “Please allow me to help the other priests, in order that I may [earn some money to] buy some food.”’”
| והיה כל הנותר בביתך יבוא להשתחות לו לאגורת כסף וככר לחם ואמר ספחני נא אל אחת הכהנות--לאכל פת לחם |
