1 Samuel 1; 1 Samuel 2; 1 Samuel 3; Luke 8:26-56

1 There was a man named Elkanah son of Jeroham from Ramathaim in the mountains of Ephraim. Elkanah was from the family of Zuph. (Jeroham was Elihu's son. Elihu was Tohu's son, and Tohu was the son of Zuph from the family group of Ephraim.)

2 Elkanah had two wives named Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

3 Every year Elkanah left his town of Ramah and went up to Shiloh to worship the Lord All-Powerful and to offer sacrifices to him. Shiloh was where Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, served as priests of the Lord.

4 When Elkanah offered sacrifices, he always gave a share of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to her sons and daughters.

5 But Elkanah always gave a special share of the meat to Hannah, because he loved Hannah and because the Lord had kept her from having children.

6 Peninnah would tease Hannah and upset her, because the Lord had made her unable to have children.

7 This happened every year when they went up to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. Peninnah would upset Hannah until Hannah would cry and not eat anything.

8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, "Hannah, why are you crying and why won't you eat? Why are you sad? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

9 Once, after they had eaten their meal in Shiloh, Hannah got up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the entrance to the Lord's house.

10 Hannah was so sad that she cried and prayed to the Lord.

11 She made a promise, saying, "Lord All-Powerful, see how sad I am. Remember me and don't forget me. If you will give me a son, I will give him back to you all his life, and no one will ever cut his hair with a razor."

12 While Hannah kept praying, Eli watched her mouth.

13 She was praying in her heart so her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk

14 and said to her, "Stop getting drunk! Throw away your wine!"

15 Hannah answered, "No, sir, I have not drunk any wine or beer. I am a deeply troubled woman, and I was telling the Lord about all my problems.

16 Don't think I am an evil woman. I have been praying because I have many troubles and am very sad."

17 Eli answered, "Go! I wish you well. May the God of Israel give you what you asked of him."

18 Hannah said, "May I always please you." When she left and ate something, she was not sad anymore.

19 Early the next morning Elkanah's family got up and worshiped the Lord. Then they went back home to Ramah. Elkanah had sexual relations with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.

20 So Hannah became pregnant, and in time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "His name is Samuel because I asked the Lord for him."

21 Every year Elkanah went with his whole family to Shiloh to offer sacrifices and to keep the promise he had made to God.

22 But one time Hannah did not go with him. She told him, "When the boy is old enough to eat solid food, I will take him to Shiloh. Then I will give him to the Lord, and he will always live there."

23 Elkanah, Hannah's husband, said to her, "Do what you think is best. You may stay home until the boy is old enough to eat. May the Lord do what you have said." So Hannah stayed at home to nurse her son until he was old enough to eat.

24 When Samuel was old enough to eat, Hannah took him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh, along with a three-year-old bull, one-half bushel of flour, and a leather bag filled with wine.

25 After they had killed the bull for the sacrifice, Hannah brought Samuel to Eli.

26 She said to Eli, "As surely as you live, sir, I am the same woman who stood near you praying to the Lord.

27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord answered my prayer and gave him to me.

28 Now I give him back to the Lord. He will belong to the Lord all his life." And he worshiped the Lord there.

1 Hannah prayed: "The Lord has filled my heart with joy; I feel very strong in the Lord. I can laugh at my enemies; I am glad because you have helped me!

2 "There is no one holy like the Lord. There is no God but you; there is no Rock like our God.

3 "Don't continue bragging, don't speak proud words. The Lord is a God who knows everything, and he judges what people do.

4 "The bows of warriors break, but weak people become strong.

5 Those who once had plenty of food now must work for food, but people who were hungry are hungry no more. The woman who could not have children now has seven, but the woman who had many children now is sad.

6 "The Lord sends death, and he brings to life. He sends people to the grave, and he raises them to life again.

7 The Lord makes some people poor, and others he makes rich. He makes some people humble, and others he makes great.

8 The Lord raises the poor up from the dust, and he lifts the needy from the ashes. He lets the poor sit with princes and receive a throne of honor. "The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord, and the Lord set the world upon them.

9 He protects those who are loyal to him, but evil people will be silenced in darkness. Power is not the key to success.

10 The Lord destroys his enemies; he will thunder in heaven against them. The Lord will judge all the earth. He will give power to his king and make his appointed king strong."

11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy continued to serve the Lord under Eli the priest.

12 Now Eli's sons were evil men; they did not care about the Lord.

13 This is what the priests would normally do to the people: Every time someone brought a sacrifice, the meat would be cooked in a pot. The priest's servant would then come carrying a fork that had three prongs.

14 He would plunge the fork into the pot or the kettle. Whatever the fork brought out of the pot belonged to the priest. But this is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices.

15 Even before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come to the person offering sacrifices and say, "Give the priest some meat to roast. He won't accept boiled meat from you, only raw meat."

16 If the one who offered the sacrifice said, "Let the fat be burned up first as usual, and then take anything you want," the priest's servant would answer, "No, give me the meat now. If you don't, I'll take it by force."

17 The Lord saw that the sin of the servants was very great because they did not show respect for the offerings made to the Lord.

18 But Samuel obeyed the Lord. As a boy he wore a linen holy vest.

19 Every year Samuel's mother made a little coat for him and took it to him when she went with her husband to Shiloh for the sacrifice.

20 When Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, he would say, "May the Lord repay you with children through Hannah to take the place of the boy Hannah prayed for and gave back to the Lord." Then Elkanah and Hannah would go home.

21 The Lord was kind to Hannah, so she became the mother of three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up serving the Lord.

22 Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all the Israelites and how his sons had sexual relations with the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

23 Eli said to his sons, "Why do you do these evil things that the people tell me about?

24 No, my sons. The Lord's people are spreading a bad report about you.

25 If you sin against someone, God can help you. But if you sin against the Lord himself, no one can help you!" But Eli's sons would not listen to him, because the Lord had decided to put them to death.

26 The boy Samuel grew physically. He pleased the Lord and the people.

27 A man of God came to Eli and said, "This is what the Lord says: 'I clearly showed myself to the family of your ancestor Aaron when they were slaves to the king of Egypt.

28 I chose them from all the tribes of Israel to be my priests. I wanted them to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the holy vest. I also let the family of your ancestor have part of all the offerings sacrificed by the Israelites.

29 So why don't you respect the sacrifices and gifts? You honor your sons more than me. You grow fat on the best parts of the meat the Israelites bring to me.'

30 "So the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I promised that your family and your ancestor's family would serve me always.' But now the Lord says: 'This must stop! I will honor those who honor me, but I will dishonor those who ignore me.

31 The time is coming when I will destroy the descendants of both you and your ancestors. No man will grow old in your family.

32 You will see trouble in my house. No matter what good things happen to Israel, there will never be an old man in your family.

33 I will not totally cut off your family from my altar. But your eyes will cry and your heart be sad, because all your descendants will die.

34 "'I will give you a sign. Both your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day.

35 I will choose a loyal priest for myself who will listen to me and do what I want. I will make his family continue, and he will always serve before my appointed king.

36 Then everyone left in your family will come and bow down before him. They will beg for a little money or a little food and say, "Please give me a job as priest so I can have food to eat."' "

1 The boy Samuel served the Lord under Eli. In those days the Lord did not speak directly to people very often; there were very few visions.

2 Eli's eyes were so weak he was almost blind. One night he was lying in bed.

3 Samuel was also in bed in the Lord's house, where the Ark of the Agreement was. God's lamp was still burning.

4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and Samuel answered, "I am here!"

5 He ran to Eli and said, "I am here. You called me." But Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed." So Samuel went back to bed.

6 The Lord called again, "Samuel!" Samuel again went to Eli and said, "I am here. You called me." Again Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed."

7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the Lord had not spoken directly to him yet.

8 The Lord called Samuel for the third time. Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "I am here. You called me." Then Eli realized the Lord was calling the boy.

9 So he told Samuel, "Go to bed. If he calls you again, say, 'Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in bed.

10 The Lord came and stood there and called as he had before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel said, "Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening."

11 The Lord said to Samuel, "Watch, I am going to do something in Israel that will shock those who hear about it.

12 At that time I will do to Eli and his family everything I promised, from beginning to end.

13 I told Eli I would punish his family always, because he knew his sons were evil. They acted without honor, but he did not stop them.

14 So I swore to Eli's family, 'Your guilt will never be removed by sacrifice or offering.'"

15 Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision,

16 but Eli called to him, "Samuel, my son!" Samuel answered, "I am here."

17 Eli asked, "What did the Lord say to you? Don't hide it from me. May God punish you terribly if you hide from me anything he said to you."

18 So Samuel told Eli everything and did not hide anything from him. Then Eli said, "He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is best."

19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up; he did not let any of Samuel's messages fail to come true.

20 Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew Samuel was a true prophet of the Lord.

21 And the Lord continued to show himself at Shiloh, and he showed himself to Samuel through his word.

26 Jesus and his followers sailed across the lake from Galilee to the area of the Gerasene people.

27 When Jesus got out on the land, a man from the town who had demons inside him came to Jesus. For a long time he had worn no clothes and had lived in the burial caves, not in a house.

28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him. He said with a loud voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!"

29 He said this because Jesus was commanding the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had taken hold of him. Though he had been kept under guard and chained hand and foot, he had broken his chains and had been forced by the demon out into a lonely place.

30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He answered, "Legion," because many demons were in him.

31 The demons begged Jesus not to send them into eternal darkness.

32 A large herd of pigs was feeding on a hill, and the demons begged Jesus to allow them to go into the pigs. So Jesus allowed them to do this.

33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd ran down the hill into the lake and was drowned.

34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told about this in the town and the countryside.

35 And people went to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind, because the demons were gone. But the people were frightened.

36 The people who saw this happen told the others how Jesus had made the man well.

37 All the people of the Gerasene country asked Jesus to leave, because they were all very afraid. So Jesus got into the boat and went back to Galilee.

38 The man whom Jesus had healed begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,

39 "Go back home and tell people how much God has done for you." So the man went all over town telling how much Jesus had done for him.

40 When Jesus got back to Galilee, a crowd welcomed him, because everyone was waiting for him.

41 A man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, came to Jesus and fell at his feet, begging him to come to his house.

42 Jairus' only daughter, about twelve years old, was dying. While Jesus was on his way to Jairus' house, the people were crowding all around him.

43 A woman was in the crowd who had been bleeding for twelve years, but no one was able to heal her.

44 She came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat, and instantly her bleeding stopped.

45 Then Jesus said, "Who touched me?" When all the people said they had not touched him, Peter said, "Master, the people are all around you and are pushing against you."

46 But Jesus said, "Someone did touch me, because I felt power go out from me."

47 When the woman saw she could not hide, she came forward, shaking, and fell down before Jesus. While all the people listened, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.

48 Jesus said to her, "Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace."

49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue leader and said to him, "Your daughter is dead. Don't bother the teacher anymore."

50 When Jesus heard this, he said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just believe, and your daughter will be well."

51 When Jesus went to the house, he let only Peter, John, James, and the girl's father and mother go inside with him.

52 All the people were crying and feeling sad because the girl was dead, but Jesus said, "Stop crying. She is not dead, only asleep."

53 The people laughed at Jesus because they knew the girl was dead.

54 But Jesus took hold of her hand and called to her, "My child, stand up!"

55 Her spirit came back into her, and she stood up at once. Then Jesus ordered that she be given something to eat.

56 The girl's parents were amazed, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone what had happened.