1 Samuel 1

1 And there is a certain man of Ramathaim-Zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name [is] Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite,

Now 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:

2 and he has two wives, the name of the first [is] Hannah, and the name of the second Peninnah, and Peninnah has children, and Hannah has no children.

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

3 And that man has gone up out of his city from time to time, to bow himself, and to sacrifice, before YHWH of Hosts, in Shiloh, and there [are] two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests of YHWH.

Now 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.

4 And the day comes, and Elkanah sacrifices, and he has given portions to his wife Peninnah, and to all her sons and her daughters,

And 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:

5 and he gives a certain portion to Hannah—double, for he has loved Hannah, and YHWH has shut her womb;

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

6 and her rival has also provoked her greatly, so as to make her tremble, for YHWH has shut up her womb.

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

7 And so is done year by year, from the time of her going up into the house of YHWH, so she provokes her, and she weeps, and does not eat.

And 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.

8 And her husband Elkanah says to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart afflicted? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

Then 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?

9 And Hannah rises after eating in Shiloh, and after drinking, and Eli the priest is sitting on the throne by the doorpost of the temple of YHWH.

So 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.

10 And she is bitter in soul, and prays to YHWH, and weeps greatly,

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

11 and vows a vow, and says, “YHWH of Hosts, if You certainly look on the affliction of Your handmaid, and have remembered me, and do not forget Your handmaid, and have given to Your handmaid seed of men—then I have given him to YHWH all [the] days of his life, and a razor does not go up on his head.”

And 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.

12 And it has been, when she multiplied praying before YHWH, that Eli is watching her mouth,

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

13 and Hannah, she is speaking over her heart—only her lips are moving, and her voice is not heard, and Eli reckons her to be drunken.

For 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.

14 And Eli says to her, “Until when are you drunken? Turn aside your wine from you.”

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

15 And Hannah answers and says, “No, my lord, I [am] a woman sharply pained in spirit, and I have not drunk wine and strong drink, and I pour out my soul before YHWH;

And 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.

16 do not put your handmaid before a daughter of worthlessness, for from the abundance of my meditation, and of my provocation, I have spoken until now.”

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

17 And Eli answers and says, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel gives your petition which you have asked of Him.”

Then 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.

18 And she says, “Let your handmaid find grace in your eyes”; and the woman goes on her way, and eats, and her face has not been [downcast] for herself anymore.

And 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.

19 And they rise early in the morning, and bow themselves before YHWH, and turn back, and come to their house in Ramah, and Elkanah knows his wife Hannah, and YHWH remembers her;

And 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.

20 and it comes to pass, at the revolution of the days, that Hannah conceives, and bears a son, and calls his name Samuel, for, “I have asked for him from YHWH.”

Now 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.

21 And the man Elkanah goes up, and all his house, to sacrifice to YHWH the sacrifice of the days, and his vow.

And 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.

22 And Hannah has not gone up, for she said to her husband, “Until the youth is weaned—then I have brought him in, and he has appeared before the face of YHWH, and dwelt there for all time.”

But 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.

23 And her husband Elkanah says to her, “Do that which is good in your eyes; abide until your weaning him; only, let YHWH establish His word”; and the woman abides and suckles her son until she has weaned him,

And 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.

24 and she causes him to go up with her when she has weaned him, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and she brings him into the house of YHWH at Shiloh, and the youth [is but] a youth.

Then 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.

25 And they slaughter the bullock, and bring in the youth to Eli,

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

26 and she says, “O my lord, your soul lives! My lord, I [am] the woman who stood with you in this [place], to pray to YHWH;

And 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:

27 I prayed for this youth, and YHWH gives to me my petition which I asked of Him;

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

28 and I also have called him to YHWH, all the days that he has lived—he is called to YHWH”; and he bows himself there before YHWH.

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