1 Samuel 1:10-18

1:10 She was very upset ¹  as she prayed to the Lord, and she was weeping uncontrollably. ²  1:11 She made a vow saying, “O Lord of hosts, if you will look with compassion ³  on the suffering of your female servant, ⁴  remembering me and not forgetting your servant, and give a male child ⁵  to your servant, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life. His hair will never be cut.” ⁶ 

1:12 As she continued praying to ⁷  the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth. 1:13 Now Hannah was speaking from her heart. Although her lips were moving, her voice was inaudible. Eli therefore thought she was drunk. 1:14 So he ⁸  said to her, “How often do you intend to get drunk? Put away your wine!”

1:15 But Hannah replied, “That’s not the way it is, ⁹  my lord! I am under a great deal of stress. ¹⁰  I have drunk neither wine nor beer. Rather, I have poured out my soul to ¹¹  the Lord. 1:16 Don’t consider your servant a wicked woman, ¹²  for until now I have spoken from my deep pain and anguish.”

1:17 Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request that you have asked of him.” 1:18 She said, “May I, your servant, find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and got something to eat. ¹³  Her face no longer looked sad.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer

2:1 Hannah prayed, ¹⁴ 

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

my horn ¹⁵  is exalted high because of the Lord.

I loudly denounce ¹⁶  my enemies,

for I am happy that you delivered me. ¹⁷ 

2:2 No one is holy ¹⁸  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ¹⁹  like our God!

2:3 Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly, ²⁰ 

letting proud talk come out of your mouth!

For the Lord is a God who knows;

he ²¹  evaluates what people do.

2:4 The bows of warriors are shattered,

but those who stumble find their strength reinforced.

2:5 Those who are well-fed hire themselves out to earn food,

but the hungry no longer lack.

Even ²²  the barren woman gives birth to seven, ²³ 

but the one with many children withers away. ²⁴ 

2:6 The Lord both kills and gives life;

he brings down to the grave ²⁵  and raises up.

2:7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;

he humbles and he exalts.

2:8 He lifts the weak ²⁶  from the dust;

he raises ²⁷  the poor from the ash heap

to seat them with princes

and to bestow on them an honored position. ²⁸ 

The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord,

and he has placed the world on them.

2:9 He watches over ²⁹  his holy ones, ³⁰ 

but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness,

for it is not by one’s own strength that one prevails.

2:10 The Lord shatters ³¹  his adversaries; ³² 

he thunders against them from ³³  the heavens.

The Lord executes judgment to the ends of the earth.

He will strengthen ³⁴  his king

and exalt the power ³⁵  of his anointed one.” ³⁶ 

1 Samuel 7:5-6

7:5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf.” 7:6 After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted on that day, and they confessed ³⁷  there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel led ³⁸  the people of Israel at Mizpah.

1 Samuel 7:12

7:12 Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen. ³⁹  He named it Ebenezer, ⁴⁰  saying, “Up to here the Lord has helped us.”

1 Samuel 8:6

8:6 But this request displeased Samuel, for ⁴¹  they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord.

1 Samuel 8:21

8:21 So Samuel listened to everything the people said and then reported it to the Lord. ⁴² 

1 Samuel 12:18-19

12:18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel. 12:19 All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us – your servants – so we won’t die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king.” ⁴³ 

1 Samuel 12:23

12:23 As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright.

1 Samuel 15:11

15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

1 Samuel 22:15

22:15 Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse ⁴⁴  his servant or any of my father’s house. For your servant is not aware of all this – not in whole or in part!” ⁴⁵ 

1 Samuel 23:2-4

23:2 So David asked the Lord, “Should I go and strike down these Philistines?” The Lord said to David, “Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.”

23:3 But David’s men said to him, “We are afraid while we are still here in Judah! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 23:4 So David asked the Lord once again. But again the Lord replied, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”

1 Samuel 23:9-12

23:9 When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, ⁴⁶  he told Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod!” 23:10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning ⁴⁷  to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me. 23:11 Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, please inform your servant!”

Then the Lord said, “He will come down.” 23:12 David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”

1 Samuel 30:7-8

30:7 Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 30:8 David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Should I pursue this raiding band? Will I overtake them?” He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them and carry out a rescue!”

[1:10]  ¹ tn Heb “she [was in] bitterness of soul.”

[1:10]  ² tn Heb “and weeping, she was weeping.” The infinitive absolute emphasizes the extent of her sorrow. The imperfect verbal form emphasizes the continuation of the action in past time.

[1:11]  ³ tn Heb “if looking you look.” The expression can refer, as here, to looking favorably upon another, in this case with compassion.

[1:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “handmaid.” The use of this term (translated two more times in this verse and once each in vv. 16, 17 simply as “servant” for stylistic reasons) is an expression of humility.

[1:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “seed of men.”

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “a razor will not go up upon his head.”

[1:12]  ⁷ tc Heb “before.” Many medieval Hebrew manuscripts read “to.”

[1:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “Eli.” The pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[1:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “No.”

[1:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I am a woman difficult of spirit.” The LXX has “for whom the day is difficult,” apparently mistaking the Hebrew word for “spirit” רוּחַ (ruakh) to be the word for “day” יוֹם (yom).

[1:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “before.”

[1:16]  ¹² tn Heb “daughter of worthlessness.”

[1:18]  ¹³ tc Several medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta lack the words “and got something to eat.”

[2:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “prayed and said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ sn Horns of animals have always functioned as both offensive and defensive weapons for them. As a figure of speech the horn is therefore often used in the Bible as a symbol of human strength (see also in v. 10). The allusion in v. 1 to the horn being lifted high suggests a picture of an animal elevating its head in a display of strength or virility.

[2:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my mouth opens wide against.”

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for I rejoice in your deliverance.”

[2:2]  ¹⁸ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

[2:2]  ¹⁹ tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

[2:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “proudly, proudly.” If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.

[2:3]  ²¹ tc The MT (Qere) reads “and by him actions are weighed.” The translation assumes that reading of the Qere וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and by him”), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib וְלוֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[2:5]  ²² tc Against BHS but with the MT, the preposition (עַד, ’ad) should be taken with what follows rather than with what precedes. For this sense of the preposition see Job 25:5.

[2:5]  ²³ sn The number seven is used here in an ideal sense. Elsewhere in the OT having seven children is evidence of fertility as a result of God’s blessing on the family. See, for example, Jer 15:9, Ruth 4:15.

[2:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “languishes.”

[2:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Sheol”; NAB “the nether world”; CEV “the world of the dead.”

[2:8]  ²⁶ tn Or “lowly”; Heb “insignificant.”

[2:8]  ²⁷ tn The imperfect verbal form, which is parallel to the participle in the preceding line, is best understood here as indicating what typically happens.

[2:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “a seat of honor.”

[2:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “guards the feet of.” The expression means that God watches over and protects the godly in all of their activities and movements. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.

[2:9]  ³⁰ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the plural (“his holy ones”) rather than the singular (“his holy one”) of the Kethib.

[2:10]  ³¹ tn The imperfect verbal forms in this line and in the next two lines are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.

[2:10]  ³² tc The present translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate in reading the plural (“his adversaries,” similarly many other English versions) rather than the singular (“his adversary”) of the Kethib.

[2:10]  ³³ tn The Hebrew preposition here has the sense of “from within.”

[2:10]  ³⁴ tn The imperfect verbal forms in this and the next line are understood as indicating what is anticipated and translated with the future tense, because at the time of Hannah’s prayer Israel did not yet have a king.

[2:10]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the horn,” here a metaphor for power or strength. Cf. NCV “make his appointed king strong”; NLT “increases the might of his anointed one.”

[2:10]  ³⁶ tc The LXX greatly expands v. 10 with an addition that seems to be taken from Jer 9:23-24.

[2:10]  sn The anointed one is the anticipated king of Israel, as the preceding line makes clear.

[7:6]  ³⁷ tn Heb “said.”

[7:6]  ³⁸ tn Heb “judged”; NAB “began to judge”; TEV “settled disputes among.”

[7:12]  ³⁹ tn Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “Jeshanah.”

[7:12]  ⁴⁰ sn The name Ebenezer (אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר) means “stone of help” in Hebrew (cf. TEV); NLT adds the meaning parenthetically after the name.

[8:6]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “when.”

[8:21]  ⁴² tn Heb “and Samuel heard all the words of the people and he spoke them into the ears of the Lord.”

[12:19]  ⁴³ tn Heb “for we have added to all our sins an evil [thing] by asking for ourselves a king.”

[22:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “set a matter against.”

[22:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “small or great.”

[23:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “Saul was planning the evil against him.”

[23:10]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “seeking.”