Elkanah and His Wives

1 Now there was a certain man from ^(A)Ramathaim-zophim from the ^(B)hill country of Ephraim, and his name was ^(C)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² Now he had ^(D)two wives: the name of one was ^(E)Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³ Now that man would go up from his city ^(F)yearly ^(G)to worship and to sacrifice to ^[a]Yahweh of hosts in ^(H)Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to Yahweh there. ⁴ And the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, and he ^(I)would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; ⁵ but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, ^(J)but Yahweh had closed her womb. ⁶ Her rival, however, ^(K)would provoke her bitterly to irritate her because Yahweh had closed her womb. ⁷ And so it would happen year after year, as often as she went up to the house of Yahweh, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. ⁸ Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? ^(L)Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

⁹ Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^(M)the temple of Yahweh. ¹⁰ And she, bitter of soul, prayed to Yahweh and wept despondently. ¹¹ And she ^(N)made a vow and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, if You will indeed ^(O)look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a seed amongst men, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and ^(P)a razor shall never come on his head.”

¹² Now it happened, as she multiplied her praying before Yahweh, that Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ As for Hannah, ^(Q)she was speaking in her heart; only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ Then Eli said to her, “^(R)How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman ^[b]oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I ^(S)have poured out my soul before Yahweh. ¹⁶ Do not ^[c]consider your maidservant as a vile woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great complaint and ^[d]provocation.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, “^(T)Go in peace; and may the God of Israel ^(U)grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” ¹⁸ And she said, “^(V)Let your servant-woman find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and ^(W)her face was no longer sad.

The Birth of Samuel

¹⁹ Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh and turned back and came to their house in ^(X)Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and ^(Y)Yahweh remembered her. ²⁰ Now it happened ^[e]in due time that Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “^(Z)Because I have asked him of Yahweh.”

²¹ Then the man Elkanah ^(AA)went up with all his household to offer to Yahweh the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the young boy is weaned; then I will ^(AB)bring him, that he may appear before Yahweh and ^(AC)stay there forever.” ^23 (AD)And Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what is good in your eyes. Remain until you have weaned him; only ^(AE)may Yahweh establish His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, ^(AF)she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ^[f]ephah of flour and a jug of wine and brought him to ^(AG)the house of Yahweh in Shiloh, although the boy was young. ²⁵ Then ^(AH)they slaughtered the bull and ^(AI)brought the young boy to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “Oh, my lord! ^(AJ)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to Yahweh. ^27 (AK)For this young boy I prayed, and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of Him. ^28 (AL)So I have also ^[g]dedicated him to Yahweh; as long as he lives, he is ^[h]dedicated to Yahweh.” So ^(AM)he worshiped Yahweh there.

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving

2 Then Hannah ^(AN)prayed and said,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went to his home at ^(BQ)Ramah. ^(BR)But the young boy ministered to Yahweh before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^[l](BS)vile men; they did not know Yahweh. ^13 (BT)And this was the legal judgment for the priests with the people: when any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s young man would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ Then he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot; all that the fork would bring up the priest would take for himself. Thus they would do in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before ^(BU)they offered up the fat in smoke, the priest’s young man would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting; he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” ¹⁶ Then the man would say to him, “They must surely offer up the fat in smoke ^[m]first, and then take as much as your soul desires,” then he would say, “No, you shall give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷ Thus the sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh, for the men ^(BV)spurned the offering of Yahweh.

Samuel Before Yahweh as a Boy

¹⁸ Now ^(BW)Samuel was ministering before Yahweh, as a ^[n]young boy ^(BX)girded with a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And his mother would make him a little ^(BY)robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer ^(BZ)the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Then Eli would ^(CA)bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May Yahweh establish for you a seed from this woman in place of ^[o]the one she ^(CB)dedicated to Yahweh.” And they went to their own ^[p]home.

^21 (CC)Yahweh indeed visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And ^(CD)the young boy Samuel grew before Yahweh.

Eli Hears About His Sons’ Evils

²² Now Eli was very old; and he heard ^(CE)all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with ^(CF)the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ²³ So he said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? ²⁴ No, my sons; for the report is not good ^(CG)which I hear the people of Yahweh ^[q]passing about. ²⁵ If one man sins against another, ^(CH)God will mediate for him; but ^(CI)if a man sins against Yahweh, who can pray for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for ^(CJ)Yahweh desired to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the young boy ^(CK)Samuel ^[r]was growing in stature and in favor both with Yahweh and with men.

Eli Honors His Sons Above Yahweh

²⁷ Then ^(CL)a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘^(CM)Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, enslaved to Pharaoh’s house? ^28 (CN)And did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not ^(CO)give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? ²⁹ Why do you ^(CP)kick at My sacrifice and at My offering ^(CQ)which I have commanded in My ^(CR)habitation, and ^(CS)honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ^[s]choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ ³⁰ Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, declares, ‘^(CT)I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now Yahweh declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for ^(CU)those who honor Me I will honor, and those ^(CV)who despise Me will be cursed. ³¹ Behold, ^(CW)the days are coming, and I will break your ^[t]strength and the ^[u]strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² And you will look upon ^(CX)the distress of My habitation, in spite of all the good that ^[v]I do for Israel; and an ^(CY)old man will not be in your house all the days. ³³ Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar ^[w]so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will be put to death ^[x]in the prime of life. ³⁴ Now this will be ^(CZ)the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: ^(DA)on the same day both of them will be put to death. ³⁵ But ^(DB)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and ^(DC)I will build him a faithful house, and he will walk before ^(DD)My anointed always. ³⁶ And it will be that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a ^[y]piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please ^[z]assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

Yahweh Calls Samuel

3 Now ^(DE)the young boy Samuel was ministering to Yahweh before Eli. And ^(DF)word from Yahweh was rare in those days; ^[aa]visions were infrequent.

² And it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now ^(DG)his eyesight had begun to fade, and he could not see well), ³ and ^(DH)the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of God was, ⁴ that Yahweh called Samuel; and he said, “^(DI)Here I am.” ⁵ Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; go back, lie down.” So he went and lay down. ⁶ Then Yahweh called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he ^[ab]answered, “I did not call, my son; go back, lie down.” ^7 (DJ)Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, nor had the word of Yahweh yet been revealed to him. ⁸ So Yahweh called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that Yahweh was calling the young boy. ⁹ And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh, for Your slave is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Then Yahweh came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your slave is listening.” ¹¹ And Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, ^(DK)I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² In that day ^(DL)I will establish against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ And ^(DM)I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for ^(DN)the iniquity which he knew because ^(DO)his sons have been bringing a curse on themselves, but ^(DP)he did not rebuke them. ¹⁴ Now therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that ^(DQ)the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵ So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he ^(DR)opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. But Samuel was afraid to tell ^(DS)the vision to Eli. ¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ And he said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. ^(DT)May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “^(DU)It is Yahweh; let Him do what seems good in His eyes.”

¹⁹ Thus ^(DV)Samuel grew, and ^(DW)Yahweh was with him and ^(DX)let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰ So all Israel ^(DY)from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of Yahweh. ²¹ And ^(DZ)Yahweh appeared again at Shiloh, ^(EA)because Yahweh revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of Yahweh.

The Philistines Take the Ark

4 Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside ^(EB)Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped in ^(EC)Aphek. ² And the Philistines arranged themselves to meet Israel. Then the battle spread, and Israel was ^[ac]defeated before the Philistines who struck down about 4,000 men on the battlefield. ³ Then the people came into the camp, and the elders of Israel said, “^(ED)Why has Yahweh ^[ad]defeated us today before the Philistines? ^(EE)Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, that ^[ae]it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of hosts ^(EF)who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵ And it happened that as the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came into the camp, ^(EG)all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth was thrown into confusion. ⁶ Then the Philistines heard the noise of the shout and said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they knew that the ark of Yahweh had come into the camp. ⁷ And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “^(EH)Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ^9 (EI)Be strong and become men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews, ^(EJ)as they have been slaves to you; therefore, become men and fight.”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, and ^(EK)Israel was ^[af]defeated, and ^(EL)every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel 30,000 foot soldiers. ¹¹ And the ark of God was taken; and ^(EM)the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The Death of Eli

¹² Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with ^(EN)his robes torn and ^[ag]dust on his head. ¹³ And he came, and behold, ^(EO)Eli was sitting on his seat ^[ah]by the road eagerly watching because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. Now the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. ¹⁴ Then Eli heard the noise of the outcry, and he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” So the man came hurriedly and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and ^(EP)his eyes had set so that he could not see. ¹⁶ And the man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I fled from the battle line today.” And he said, “^(EQ)How did things go, my son?” ¹⁷ Then the one who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.” ¹⁸ And it happened that when he mentioned the ark of God, ^[ai](ER)Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died, for the man was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was with child and about to give birth. And she heard the report that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, so she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. ²⁰ And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “^(ES)Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. ²¹ And she called the boy ^[aj]Ichabod, saying, “^(ET)The glory has departed from Israel,” because ^(EU)the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”

³ and Ahijah, the ^(A)son of Ahitub, ^(B)Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of Yahweh at ^(C)Shiloh, ^(D)was ^[a]wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.