1 Samuel 1; 1 Samuel 2; 1 Samuel 3

1 There was a man named Elkanah from Ramathaim Zophim in the mountains of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, grandson of Elihu, great-grandson of Tohu, whose father was Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim.

2 Elkanah had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

3 Every year this man would go from his own city to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Armies at Shiloh. Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served there as priests of the LORD.

4 Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he would give portions of it to his wife Peninnah and all her sons and daughters.

5 He would also give one portion to Hannah because he loved her, even though the LORD had kept her from having children.

6 Because the LORD had made her unable to have children, her rival [Peninnah] tormented her endlessly in order to make her miserable.

7 This happened year after year. Whenever Hannah went to the LORD's house, Peninnah would make her miserable, and Hannah would cry and not eat.

8 Her husband Elkanah would ask her, "Hannah, why are you crying? Why haven't you eaten? Why are you so downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"

9 One day, after Hannah had something to eat and drink in Shiloh, she got up. (The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the door of the Lord's temple.)

10 Though she was resentful, she prayed to the LORD while she cried.

11 She made this vow, "LORD of Armies, if you will look at my misery, remember me, and give me a boy, then I will give him to you for as long as he lives. A razor will never be used on his head."

12 While Hannah was praying a long time in front of the LORD, Eli was watching her mouth.

13 She was praying silently. Her voice couldn't be heard; only her lips were moving. Eli thought she was drunk.

14 "How long are you going to stay drunk?" Eli asked her. "Get rid of your wine."

15 Hannah responded, "No, sir. I'm not drunk. I'm depressed. I'm pouring out my heart to the LORD.

16 Don't take me to be a good-for-nothing woman. I was praying like this because I've been troubled and tormented."

17 Eli replied, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request."

18 "May you continue to be kind to me," she said. Then the woman went her way and ate. She was no longer sad.

19 Early in the morning Elkanah and his family got up and worshiped in front of the LORD. Then they returned home to Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.

20 Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel [God Hears], because she said, "I asked the LORD for him."

21 To keep his vow, Elkanah and his entire household again went to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD.

22 But Hannah didn't go. She told her husband, "I'll wait until the boy is weaned. Then I'll bring him and present him to the LORD, and he'll stay there permanently."

23 "Do what you think is best," her husband Elkanah told her. "Wait until you've weaned him. May the LORD keep his word." The woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

24 As soon as she had weaned Samuel, she took him with her. She also brought a three-year-old bull, half a bushel of flour, and a full wineskin. She brought him to the LORD's house at Shiloh while the boy was [still] a child.

25 Then the parents butchered the bull and brought the child to Eli.

26 "Sir," Hannah said, "as sure as you live, I'm the woman who stood here next to you and prayed to the LORD.

27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.

28 In return, I am giving him to the LORD. He will be dedicated to the LORD for his whole life." And they worshiped the LORD there.

1 Hannah prayed out loud, "My heart finds joy in the LORD. My head is lifted to the LORD. My mouth mocks my enemies. I rejoice because you saved [me].

2 There is no one holy like the LORD. There is no one but you, O LORD. There is no Rock like our God.

3 "Do not boast [or] let arrogance come out of your mouth because the LORD is a God of knowledge, and he weighs [our] actions.

4 "The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumble are armed with strength.

5 Those who were well-fed hire themselves out for a piece of bread, but those who were hungry hunger no more. Even the woman who was childless gives birth to seven children, but the mother of many children grieves all alone.

6 "The LORD kills, and he gives life. He makes [people] go down to the grave, and he raises them up [again].

7 The LORD causes poverty and grants wealth. He humbles [people]; he also promotes them.

8 He raises the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from the trash heap in order to make them sit with nobles and even to make them inherit a glorious throne. "The pillars of the earth are the LORD's. He has set the world on them.

9 He safeguards the steps of his faithful ones, but wicked people are silenced in darkness because humans cannot succeed by their own strength.

10 "Those who oppose the LORD are broken into pieces. He thunders at them from the heavens. The LORD judges the ends of the earth. He gives strength to his King and lifts the head of his Messiah."

11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy [Samuel] served the LORD under the priest Eli.

12 Eli's sons, [Hophni and Phinehas,] were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the LORD.

13 Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

14 Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up [from the pot] belonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there [to sacrifice].

15 But [in the case of Eli's sons,] even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn't want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw."

16 If the man said to the servant, "First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want," the servant would say to him, "Give it to me now, or I'll take it by force."

17 The sin of Eli's sons was a serious matter to the LORD, because these men were treating the offerings made to the LORD with contempt.

18 Meanwhile, Samuel continued to serve in front of the LORD. As a boy he was [already] wearing a linen ephod.

19 His mother would make him a robe and bring it to him every year when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

20 Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, "May the LORD give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the LORD." Then they would go home.

21 The LORD came to Hannah. She became pregnant [five times] and had three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in front of the LORD.

22 Now, Eli was very old, and he had heard everything that his sons were doing to all Israel and that they were sleeping with the women who served at the gate of the tent of meeting.

23 So he asked them, "Why are you doing such things? I hear about your wicked ways from all these people.

24 Sons, the report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading isn't good!

25 If one person sins against another, God will take care of him. However, when a person sins against the LORD, who will pray for him?" But they wouldn't listen to their father's warning--the LORD wanted to kill them.

26 The boy Samuel continued to grow and gained the favor of the LORD and the people.

27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were under Pharaoh's control in Egypt.

28 I chose [one of your ancestors] out of all the tribes of Israel to serve as my priest, to sacrifice burnt offerings on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod in my presence. And I gave your ancestors the right to keep portions of the sacrifices that the people of Israel burned on the altar.

29 Why do you show no respect for my sacrifices and grain offerings that I have commanded people to make in my dwelling place? Why do you honor your sons more than me by making yourselves fat on the best of all the sacrifices offered by my people Israel?

30 "Therefore, the LORD God of Israel declares: I certainly thought that your family and your father's family would always live in my presence. "But now the LORD declares: I promise that I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me will be considered insignificant.

31 The time is coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father's house so that no one will grow old in your family.

32 You will see distress in my dwelling place. In spite of the good that I do for Israel, no one in your family will live to an old age.

33 Any man in your family whom I do not remove from my altar will have his eyes fail, and he will be heartbroken. And all your descendants will die in the prime of life.

34 What is going to happen to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you: Both of them will die on the same day.

35 Then I will appoint a faithful priest to serve me. He will do everything I want him to do. I will give him faithful descendants, and he will always live as my anointed one.

36 Then anyone who is left from your household will bow down in front of him to get a coin or a loaf of bread and say, 'Please appoint me to one of the priestly classes so that I may eat a piece of bread.'"

1 The boy Samuel was serving the LORD under Eli. In those days a prophecy from the LORD was rare; visions were infrequent.

2 One night Eli was lying down in his room. His eyesight had begun to fail so that he couldn't see well.

3 The lamp in God's temple hadn't gone out yet, and Samuel was asleep in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was kept.

4 Then the LORD called Samuel. "Here I am," Samuel responded.

5 He ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me." "I didn't call [you]," Eli replied. "Go back to bed." So Samuel went back and lay down.

6 The LORD called Samuel again. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, "Here I am. You called me." "I didn't call [you], son," he responded. "Go back to bed."

7 Samuel had no experience with the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

8 The LORD called Samuel a third time. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, "Here I am. You called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.

9 "Go, lie down," Eli told Samuel. "When he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD. I'm listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his room.

10 The LORD came and stood there. He called as he had called the other times: "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel replied, "Speak. I'm listening."

11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, "I am going to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring.

12 On that day I am going to do to Eli and his family everything I said from beginning to end.

13 I told him that I would hand down a permanent judgment against his household because he knew about his sons' sin--that they were cursing God --but he didn't try to stop them.

14 That is why I have taken an oath concerning Eli's family line: No offering or sacrifice will ever [be able to] make peace for the sins that Eli's family committed."

15 Samuel remained in bed until morning. Then he opened the doors of the LORD's house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.

16 Then Eli called Samuel. "Samuel, my son!" he said. "Here I am," he responded.

17 "What did the LORD tell you?" he asked. "Please don't hide anything from me. May God strike you dead if you hide anything he told you from me."

18 So Samuel told Eli everything. Eli replied, "He is the LORD. May he do what he thinks is right."

19 Samuel grew up. The LORD was with him and didn't let any of his words go unfulfilled.

20 All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew Samuel was the LORD's appointed prophet.

21 The LORD continued to appear in Shiloh, since the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh through the word of the LORD. And Samuel spoke to all Israel.