1 T hen Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

¶ And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoices in the LORD, my horn is exalted in the LORD; my mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I have rejoiced in thy saving health.

2 “ There is no one holy like the Lord, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God.

There is none holy as the LORD, for there is none beside thee; neither is there any strong One like our God.

3 “ Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the Lord is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed.

Do not multiply thyself speaking great and lofty things; let arrogant words cease from your mouth, for the LORD is the all-knowing God, and the magnificent works are his.

4 “ The bows of the mighty are shattered, But the feeble gird on strength.

The bows of the mighty men have been broken, and the weak are girded with strength.

5 “ Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to hunger. Even the barren gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes.

Those that were full have hired themselves out for bread, and those that were hungry ceased so that the barren has given birth to seven, and she that has many children is waxed feeble.

6 “ The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

The LORD kills, and he gives life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

7 “ The Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts.

The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and lifts up.

8 “ He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the world on them.

He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill to set them among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and he has set the world upon them.

9 “ He keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail.

He keeps the feet of his saints, and the wicked perish in darkness, for no man shall prevail by their own strength.

10 “ Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

LORD, thine adversaries shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven he shall thunder upon them. The LORD shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give strength unto his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.

11 T hen Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the boy ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest. The Sin of Eli’s Sons

¶ And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child ministered unto the LORD before Eli the priest.

12 N ow the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord

But the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they did not know the LORD.

13 a nd the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

It was the priests’ custom with the people that when anyone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the flesh was being boiled, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;

14 T hen he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

and he would strike it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot, and all that the fleshhook brought up, the priest took for himself. Thus would they do in Shiloh to all the Israelites that went there.

15 A lso, before they 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 boiled meat from you, only raw.”

Likewise, before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, for he will not take cooked flesh of thee, but raw.

16 I f the man said to him, “They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.”

And if the man would say unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat today and then take as much as thy soul desires, then he would answer him, No, but thou shalt give it to me now, and if not, I will take it by force.

17 T hus the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men despised the offering of the Lord. Samuel before the Lord as a Boy

Therefore, the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men despised the present of the LORD.

18 N ow Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.

But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.

19 A nd his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

Moreover his mother made him a little coat and brought it to him each year when she came up with her husband to offer the accustomed sacrifice.

20 T hen Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the Lord.” And they went to their own home.

And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of the LORD. And they went unto their own home.

21 T he Lord visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord. Eli Rebukes His Sons

And the LORD visited Hannah so that she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

22 N ow Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

Now Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel and how they lay with the women that served at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

23 H e said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people?

And he said unto them, Why do ye do such things? For I hear from all the people of your evil dealings.

24 N o, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the Lord’s people circulating.

No, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear that ye cause the people of the LORD to transgress.

25 I f one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lord desired to put them to death.

If one man sins against another, the judges shall judge him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they did not hearken unto the voice of their father because the LORD had already decided to kill them.

26 N ow the boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.

And the child Samuel kept on growing and was in favour both with the LORD and also with men.

27 T hen a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘ Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house?

¶ And a man of God came unto Eli and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I not plainly appear unto the house of thy father when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh?

28 D id I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?

And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me, and I gave unto the house of thy father all the offerings on fire of the sons of Israel.

29 W hy do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’

Why do ye trample my sacrifices and my offerings which I have commanded to be offered in my tabernacle and honor thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

30 T herefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘ I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.

Therefore, the LORD God of Israel said, I had said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever, but now the LORD said, It shall never be; for those that honor me I will honor, and those that lightly esteem me shall be vile.

31 B ehold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house.

Behold, the days come that I will cut off thine arm and the arm of thy father’s house that there shall not be an old man in thy house.

32 Y ou will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that I do for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house forever.

And thou shalt see a competitor in my tabernacle in all the things in which I shall do good unto Israel, and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever.

33 Y et I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life.

I shall not totally cut off all thy men from my altar to consume thine eyes and to grieve thy soul, and all the increase of thy house shall die as young men.

34 T his will be the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will die.

And this shall be a sign unto thee that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall both die.

35 B ut I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

And I will raise me up a faithful priest that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind, and I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before my anointed for ever.

36 E veryone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

And it shall come to pass that every one that is left in thy house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into some aspect of the priesthood that I may eat a piece of bread.