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Elkanah’s Family Worships at Shiloh

There was a man named Elkanah from the Zuph family who lived in Ramah in the hill country of Ephraim. Elkanah was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim.

Elkanah had two wives. One wife was named Hannah and the other wife was named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.

Every year Elkanah left his town of Ramah and went up to Shiloh. He worshiped the Lord All-Powerful at Shiloh and offered sacrifices to the Lord there. Shiloh was where Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served as priests of the Lord. Whenever Elkanah offered his sacrifices, he always gave one share of the food to his wife Peninnah and a share of the food to each of Peninnah’s children. Elkanah always gave an equal share[a] of the food to Hannah. He did this because he loved her very much, even though the Lord had not let Hannah have any children.

Peninnah Upsets Hannah

Peninnah always upset Hannah and made her feel bad because the Lord had not made her able to have children. This happened every year when their family went to the Lord’s house at Shiloh. Peninnah would upset Hannah so much that she would begin to cry and would not eat anything. One year when this happened, her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won’t you eat? Why are you so sad? You have me. Isn’t that better than having even ten sons?”

Hannah’s Prayer

After eating and drinking, Hannah quietly got up and went to pray to the Lord.[b] Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the door of the Lord’s Holy Building.[c] 10 Hannah was so sad that she cried the whole time she was praying to the Lord. 11 She made a special promise to God and said, “Lord All-Powerful, you can see how sad I am. Remember me. Don’t forget me. If you will give me a son, I will give him to you. He will be yours his whole life, and as a Nazirite, he will not drink wine or strong drink,[d] and no one will ever cut his hair.”

12 Hannah prayed to the Lord a long time. Eli was watching her mouth while she was praying. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart. Her lips were moving, but since she did not say the words out loud, Eli thought she was drunk. 14 He said to her, “You have had too much to drink. It is time to put away the wine.”

15 Hannah answered, “Sir, I have not drunk any wine or beer. I am deeply troubled, and I was telling the Lord about all my problems. 16 Don’t think I am a bad woman. I have been praying so long because I have so many troubles and am very sad.”

17 Eli answered, “Go in peace. May the God of Israel give you what you asked for.”

18 Hannah said, “May you be happy with me.” Then she left and ate something. She was not sad anymore.

19 Early the next morning Elkanah’s family got up. They worshiped the Lord and then went back home to Ramah.

Samuel’s Birth

Elkanah had sexual relations with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered Hannah. 20 By that time the following year, Hannah had become pregnant and had a son. She named him Samuel.[e] She said, “His name is Samuel because I asked the Lord for him.”

21 Elkanah went to Shiloh to offer the sacrifice for that year and the gift he had promised to the Lord. He took his family with him. 22 But Hannah did not go. She told Elkanah, “When the boy is old enough to eat solid food, I will take him to Shiloh. Then I will give him to the Lord. He will become a Nazirite.[f] He will stay there at Shiloh.”

23 Hannah’s husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what you think is best. You may stay home until the boy is old enough to eat solid food. May the Lord do what you[g] have said.” So Hannah stayed at home to nurse her son until he was old enough to eat solid food.

Hannah Takes Samuel to Eli at Shiloh

24 When the boy was old enough to eat solid food, Hannah took him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh. She also took a bull that was three years old, 20 pounds[h] of flour, and a bottle of wine.

25 They went before the Lord. Elkanah killed the bull as a sacrifice to the Lord as he usually did.[i] Then Hannah gave the boy to Eli. 26 She said to him, “Pardon me, sir. I am the same woman who stood near you praying to the Lord. I promise that I am telling the truth. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord answered my prayer. He gave me this child. 28 And now I give this child to the Lord. He will serve[j] the Lord all his life.”

Then Hannah left the boy there[k] and worshiped the Lord.

Hannah Gives Thanks

Hannah said,

“My heart is happy in the Lord.
    I feel very strong[l] in my God.
I laugh at my enemies.[m]
    I am very happy in my victory.

There is no holy God like the Lord.
    There is no God but you.
    There is no Rock like our God.

Don’t continue bragging.
    Don’t speak proud words,
because the Lord God knows everything.
    He leads and judges people.
The bows of strong soldiers break,
    and weak people become strong.
People who had plenty of food in the past
    must now work to get food.
But those who were hungry in the past
    now grow fat on food.
The woman who was not able to have children
    now has seven children.
But the woman who had many children
    is sad because her children are gone.

The Lord causes people to die,
    and he causes them to live.
He sends people down to the grave,
    and he can raise them up to live again.
The Lord makes some poor,
    and he makes others rich.
He humbles some people,
    and he honors others.
He raises the poor from the dust,
    and he takes away their sadness.[n]
He makes them important
    and seats them with princes and at the places for honored guests.
The Lord made the whole world,
    and the whole world belongs to him.[o]

He protects his holy people.
    He keeps them from stumbling.
But evil people will be destroyed.
    They will fall in the darkness.
    Their power won’t help them win.
10 The Lord destroys his enemies.
    God Most High will thunder in heaven against people.
The Lord will judge even the lands that are far away.
    He will give power to his king.
    He will make his chosen king[p] strong.”

11 Elkanah and his family went home to Ramah, but the boy stayed in Shiloh and served the Lord under Eli the priest.

Eli’s Evil Sons

12 Eli’s sons were evil men who did not care about the Lord. 13 They did not care about how priests were supposed to treat people. Whenever someone brings a sacrifice, priests are supposed to put the meat in a pot of boiling water. Then their servant is supposed to get the three-pronged fork 14 and use it to get some meat out of the pot or kettle. The priest is supposed to take whatever his helper removes from the pot with the special fork. This is what the priests should have done for the Israelites who came to offer sacrifices at Shiloh. 15 But that is not what the sons of Eli did. Even before the fat was burned on the altar, their servant would go to the people offering sacrifices and say, “Give the priest some meat to roast. The priest won’t accept boiled meat from you.”

16 Maybe the man offering the sacrifice would say, “Burn the fat[q] first, and then you can take whatever you want.” But the servant would answer: “No, give me the meat now. If you don’t give it to me, I’ll take it from you!”

17 In this way Hophni and Phinehas showed that they did not respect the offerings made to the Lord. This was a terrible sin against the Lord.

18 But Samuel served the Lord. He was a helper who wore the linen ephod. 19 Every year Samuel’s mother made a robe for Samuel. She took the little robe to Samuel when she went up to Shiloh with her husband for the sacrifice every year.

20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife. He would say, “May the Lord give you more children through Hannah who will take the place of the boy she prayed for and gave to the Lord.”

Elkanah and Hannah went home. 21 The Lord was kind to Hannah, and she had three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the holy place near the Lord.

Eli Fails to Control His Evil Sons

22 Eli was very old. He heard about the bad things his sons were doing to the Israelites at Shiloh and how his sons were having sexual relations with the women who served at the door of the Meeting Tent.

23 Eli said to his sons, “The people here told me about the evil things you have done. Why are you doing such things? 24 Sons, stop that! The Lord’s people are saying bad things about you. 25 If you sin against other people, God might protect you. But who can help you if you sin against the Lord?”

Eli’s sons refused to listen to him, so the Lord decided to kill them.

26 The boy Samuel kept growing. He was pleasing to the Lord and to the people.

The Terrible Prophecy About Eli’s Family

27 A man of God came to Eli and said, “The Lord says, ‘I appeared to your ancestors[r] when they were slaves of Pharaoh. 28 From all the tribes of Israel, I chose your tribe to be my priests. I chose them to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and wear the ephod. I also let your tribe have the meat from the sacrifices that the Israelites give to me. 29 So why don’t you respect these gifts and sacrifices? You honor your sons more than me. You become fat eating the best parts of the meat that the Israelites bring to me.’

30 “The Lord, the God of Israel, promised that your father’s family would serve him forever. But now the Lord says, ‘That will never be! I will honor people who honor me, but bad things will happen to those who refuse to respect me. 31 The time is coming when I will destroy all your descendants. No one in your family will live to be an old man. 32 Good things will happen to Israel, but you will see bad things happening at home.[s] No one in your family will live to be an old man. 33 There is only one man I will save to serve as priest at my altar. He will live until his eyes wear out and his strength is gone. But all of your descendants will die by the sword.[t] 34 I will give you a sign to show that these things will come true. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day. 35 I will choose a priest I can trust. This priest will listen to me and do what I want. I will make his family strong, and he will always serve before my chosen king.[u] 36 Then whoever is left in your family will come and bow down before this priest and beg for a little money or a piece of bread. They will say, “Please give me a job as priest so that I can have some food to eat.”’”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 1:5 equal share Or “double share.”
  2. 1 Samuel 1:9 went to pray to the Lord This is from the ancient Greek version.
  3. 1 Samuel 1:9 Holy Building This could mean the Holy Tent at Shiloh where people went to worship the Lord or a larger area where they put the Holy Tent.
  4. 1 Samuel 1:11 he … strong drink This is found in the ancient Greek version and a Hebrew scroll from Qumran but not in the standard Hebrew text.
  5. 1 Samuel 1:20 Samuel This name means “His name is El (God).” But in Hebrew it is like “heard by God.”
  6. 1 Samuel 1:22 He will become a Nazirite This is found in the ancient Greek version and a Hebrew scroll from Qumran but not in the standard Hebrew text.
  7. 1 Samuel 1:23 you This is from the ancient Greek version and a Hebrew scroll from Qumran. The standard Hebrew text has “he.”
  8. 1 Samuel 1:24 20 pounds Literally, “an ephah” (22 l).
  9. 1 Samuel 1:25 They went … he usually did This is found in the ancient Greek version and a Hebrew scroll from Qumran but not in the standard Hebrew text.
  10. 1 Samuel 1:28 serve Or “belong to.”
  11. 1 Samuel 1:28 left the boy there This is found in a Hebrew scroll from Qumran but not in the standard Hebrew text.
  12. 1 Samuel 2:1 I feel very strong Literally, “In the Lord my horn is lifted high.” The horn is a symbol of strength.
  13. 1 Samuel 2:1 I laugh at my enemies Literally, “My mouth is wide open over my enemies.”
  14. 1 Samuel 2:8 he … sadness Literally, “he picks up the poor from the ashes.”
  15. 1 Samuel 2:8 The Lord made … to him Literally, “The whole world, even to its foundations, belongs to the Lord. He set the world on those pillars.”
  16. 1 Samuel 2:10 chosen king Literally, “anointed one.”
  17. 1 Samuel 2:16 Burn the fat The fat was the part of the animal that belonged only to God. It was supposed to be burned first as an offering to him.
  18. 1 Samuel 2:27 ancestors Literally, “father’s house.” See “ancestor” in the Word List.
  19. 1 Samuel 2:32 but you … at home These words are not in the ancient Greek version or the Hebrew scrolls from Qumran.
  20. 1 Samuel 2:33 by the sword This is found in the ancient Greek version and a Hebrew scroll from Qumran. The standard Hebrew text has “like men.”
  21. 1 Samuel 2:35 chosen king Literally, “anointed one.”

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