1 Samuel 1:21-2:17

New American Standard Bible

²¹Then the man Elkanah ^(A)went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. ²²But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go until the child is weaned; then I will ^(B)bring him, so that he may appear before the Lord and ^(C)stay there for life.” ²³^(D)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do ^[a]what seems best to you. Stay until you have weaned him; only ^(E)may the Lord confirm His word.” So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴Now when she had weaned him, ^(F)she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull, one ephah of flour, and a jug of wine, and brought him to ^(G)the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. ²⁵Then ^(H)they ^[b]slaughtered the bull, and ^(I)brought the boy to Eli. ²⁶And she said, “Pardon me, my lord! ^(J)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. ²⁷^(K)For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my request which I asked of Him. ²⁸^(L)So I have also ^[c]dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is ^[d]dedicated to the Lord.” And ^(M)he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving

2 Then Hannah ^(N)prayed and said,

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
^(O)My ^[e]horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth ^[f]speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because ^(P)I rejoice in Your salvation.
²^(Q)There is no one holy like the Lord,
Indeed, ^(R)there is no one besides You,
^(S)Nor is there any rock like our God.
³Do not go on ^[g]boasting so very proudly,
^(T)Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
^(U)For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
^(V)And ^[h]with Him actions are weighed.
⁴^(W)The bows of the mighty are broken to pieces,
^(X)But those who have stumbled strap on strength.
⁵Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to be hungry.
^(Y)Even the infertile woman gives birth to seven,
But ^(Z)she who has many children languishes.
⁶^(AA)The Lord puts to death and makes alive;
^(AB)He brings down to ^[i]Sheol and brings up.
⁷^(AC)The Lord makes poor and rich;
^(AD)He humbles, He also exalts.
⁸^(AE)He raises the poor from the dust,
^(AF)He lifts the needy from the garbage heap
^(AG)To seat them with nobles,
And He gives them a seat of honor as an inheritance;
^(AH)For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the world on them.
⁹^(AI)He watches over the feet of His godly ones,
^(AJ)But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
^(AK)For not by might shall a person prevail.
¹⁰^(AL)Those who contend with the Lord will be terrified;
^(AM)Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
^(AN)The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
^(AO)And He will give strength to His king,
^(AP)And will exalt the ^[j]horn of His anointed.”

¹¹Then Elkanah went to his home at ^(AQ)Ramah. ^(AR)But the boy continued to attend to the service of the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

¹²Now the sons of Eli were ^[k]^(AS)useless men; they did not know the Lord. ¹³^(AT)And this was the custom of the priests with the people: when anyone was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was cooking, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴And he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; everything that the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. They did so in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵Also, before ^(AU)they ^[l]burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take cooked meat from you, only raw.” ¹⁶And if the man said to him, “They must ^[m]burn the fat ^[n]first, then take as much as ^[o]you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you must give it to me now; and if not, I am taking it by force!” ¹⁷And so the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men ^(AV)treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.