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1 S A MU EL 2
page 246
the God of Israel grant the request you have
asked of him.”
18 “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then
she went back and began to eat again, and she
was no longer sad.
Samuel’s Birth and Dedication
19 The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more.
Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered
her plea, 20 and in due time she gave birth to
a son. She named him Samuel,* for she said,
“I asked the Lord for him.”
21 The next year Elkanah and his family
went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to
the Lord and to keep his vow. 22 But Hannah
did not go. She told her husband, “Wait until
the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the
Tabernacle and leave him there with the Lord
permanently.*”
— promises —
from God
“He will protect his
faithful ones.”
1 SA M U E L 2:9
23 “Whatever you think is best,” Elkanah
agreed. “Stay here for now, and may the Lord
help you keep your promise.*” So she stayed
home and nursed the boy until he was weaned.
24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took
him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought
along a three-year-old bull* for the sacrifice
and a basket* of flour and some wine. 25 After
sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli.
26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked.
“I am the very woman who stood here several
years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord
to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and
he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And
they* worshiped the Lord there.
Hannah’s Prayer of Praise
Then Hannah prayed:
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3
“My heart rejoices in the Lord!
The Lord has made me strong.*
Now I have an answer for my enemies;
I rejoice because you rescued me.
No one is holy like the Lord!
There is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
“Stop acting so proud and haughty!
Don’t speak with such arrogance!
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6
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10
For the Lord is a God who knows what you
have done;
he will judge your actions.
The bow of the mighty is now broken,
and those who stumbled are now strong.
Those who were well fed are now starving,
and those who were starving are now full.
The childless woman now has seven
children,
and the woman with many children
wastes away.
The Lord gives both death and life;
he brings some down to the grave* but
raises others up.
The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
he brings some down and lifts others up.
He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
placing them in seats of honor.
For all the earth is the Lord’s,
and he has set the world in order.
“He will protect his faithful ones,
but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.
Those who fight against the Lord will
be shattered.
He thunders against them from heaven;
the Lord judges throughout the earth.
He gives power to his king;
he increases the strength* of his
anointed one.”
11 Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah
without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord
by assisting Eli the priest.
Eli’s Wicked Sons
12 Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had
no respect for the Lord 13 or for their duties as
priests. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice,
Eli’s sons would send over a servant with a
three-pronged fork. While the meat of the sacrificed animal was still boiling, 14 the servant
would stick the fork into the pot and demand
that whatever it brought up be given to Eli’s
sons. All the Israelites who came to worship at
Shiloh were treated this way. 15 Sometimes the
servant would come even before the animal’s
fat had been burned on the altar. He would demand raw meat before it had been boiled so that
it could be used for roasting.
16 The man offering the sacrifice might reply,
“Take as much as you want, but the fat must be
1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew term for “asked of God”
or “heard by God.” 1:22 Some manuscripts add I will offer
him as a Nazirite for all time. 1:23 As in Dead Sea Scrolls
and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads may the Lord keep
his promise. 1:24a As in Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek and Syriac
versions; Masoretic Text reads three bulls. 1:24b Hebrew
and an ephah [20 quarts or 22 liters]. 1:28 Hebrew he.
2:1 Hebrew has exalted my horn. 2:6 Hebrew to Sheol.
2:10 Hebrew he exalts the horn.