1Samuel 1
1There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim.H259H376H7436H2022H669H8034H511H1121H3395H1121H453H1121H8459H1121H6689H673 2Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.H8147H802H8034H259H2584H8034H8145H6444H6444H3206H2584H3206 3Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Heaven's Armies at the Tabernacle. The priests of the LORD at that time were the two sons of Eli—Hophni and Phinehas.H1931H376H5927H5892H3117H3117H7812H2076H3068H6635H7887H8147H1121H5941H2652H6372H3548H3068 4On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children.H3117H511H2076H5414H6444H802H1121H1323H4490 5And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the LORD had given her no children.H2584H5414H259H639H4490H157H2584H3068H5462H7358 6So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the LORD had kept her from having children.H6869H3707H3708H7481H3068H5462H1157H7358 7Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat.H6213H8141H8141H1767H5927H1004H3068H3707H1058H398 8"Why are you crying, Hannah?" Elkanah would ask. "Why aren't you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn't that better than having ten sons?"H559H511H376H2584H1058H398H3824H3415H2896H6235H1121 9Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle.H2584H6965H310H398H7887H310H8354H5941H3548H3427H3678H4201H1964H3068 10Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the LORD.H4751H5315H6419H3068H1058H1058 11And she made this vow: "O LORD of Heaven's Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut."H5087H5088H559H3068H6635H7200H7200H6040H519H2142H7911H519H5414H519H582H2233H5414H3068H3117H2416H4177H5927H7218 12As she was praying to the LORD, Eli watched her.H7235H6419H6440H3068H5941H8104H6310 13Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking.H2584H1696H3820H8193H5128H6963H8085H5941H2803H7910 14"Must you come here drunk?" he demanded. "Throw away your wine!"H5941H559H7937H5493H3196 15"Oh no, sir!" she replied. "I haven't been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the LORD.H2584H6030H559H113H802H7186H7307H8354H3196H7941H8210H5315H6440H3068 16Don't think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow."H5414H519H6440H1323H1100H7230H7879H3708H1696 17"In that case," Eli said, "go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him."H5941H6030H559H3212H7965H430H3478H5414H7596H7592 18"Oh, thank you, sir!" she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.H559H8198H4672H2580H5869H802H3212H1870H398H6440 19The 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,H7925H1242H7925H7812H6440H3068H7725H935H1004H7414H511H3045H2584H802H3068H2142 20and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, "I asked the LORD for him."H3117H8622H2584H2029H3205H1121H7121H8034H8050H7592H3068 21The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the LORD.H376H511H1004H5927H2076H3068H3117H2077H5088 22But 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."H2584H5927H559H376H5288H1580H935H7200H6440H3068H3427H5704H5769 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.H511H376H559H6213H5869H2896H3427H1580H3068H6965H1697H802H3427H1121H3243H1580 24When 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.H1580H5927H7969H6499H259H374H7058H5035H3196H935H1004H3068H7887H5288H5288 25After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli.H7819H6499H935H5288H5941 26"Sir, do you remember me?" Hannah asked. "I am the woman who stood here several years ago praying to the LORD.H559H994H113H5315H2416H113H802H5324H6419H3068 27I asked the LORD to give me this boy, and he has granted my request.H5288H6419H3068H5414H7596H7592 28Now I am giving him to the LORD, and he will belong to the LORD his whole life." And they worshiped the LORD there.H7592H3068H3117H7592H3068H7812H3068
1Samuel 2
2Then Hannah prayed: "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.H2584H6419H559H3820H5970H3068H7161H7311H3068H6310H7337H341H8055H34442No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.H6918H3068H1115H6697H4303"Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don't speak with such arrogance! For the LORD is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions.H1696H7235H1364H1364H6277H3318H6310H3068H410H1844H5949H85054The bow of the mighty is now broken, and those who stumbled are now strong.H7198H1368H2844H3782H247H24285Those 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.H7649H7936H3899H7457H2308H6135H3205H7651H7227H1121H5356The LORD gives both death and life; he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.H3068H4191H2421H3381H7585H59277The LORD makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up.H3068H3423H6238H8213H637H73118He 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.H6965H1800H6083H7311H34H830H3427H5081H5157H3678H3519H4690H776H3068H7896H83989"He will protect his faithful ones, but the wicked will disappear in darkness. No one will succeed by strength alone.H8104H7272H2623H7563H1826H2822H3581H376H139610Those 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."H7378H3068H2865H8064H7481H3068H1777H657H776H5414H5797H4428H7311H7161H489911Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the LORD by assisting Eli the priest.H511H3212H7414H1004H5288H1961H8334H3068H6440H5941H354812Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels who had no respect for the LORDH1121H5941H1121H1100H3045H306813or 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,H3548H4941H5971H376H2076H2077H3548H5288H935H1320H1310H4207H7969H8127H302714the 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.H5221H3595H1731H7037H6517H4207H5927H3548H3947H6213H7887H3478H93515Sometimes 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.H6999H2459H3548H5288H935H559H376H2076H5414H1320H6740H3548H3947H1310H1320H241616The man offering the sacrifice might reply, "Take as much as you want, but the fat must be burned first." Then the servant would demand, "No, give it to me now, or I'll take it by force."H376H559H6999H6999H2459H3117H3947H5315H183H559H5414H3947H239417So the sin of these young men was very serious in the LORD's sight, for they treated the LORD's offerings with contempt.H2403H5288H3966H1419H6440H3068H582H5006H4503H306818But Samuel, though he was only a boy, served the LORD. He wore a linen garment like that of a priest.H8050H8334H6440H3068H5288H2296H906H64619Each year his mother made a small coat for him and brought it to him when she came with her husband for the sacrifice.H517H6213H6996H4598H5927H3117H3117H5927H376H2076H3117H207720Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, "May the LORD give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the LORD."H5941H1288H511H802H559H3068H7760H2233H802H7596H7592H3068H1980H472521And the LORD gave Hannah three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.H3588H3068H6485H2584H2029H3205H7969H1121H8147H1323H5288H8050H1431H5973H306822Now Eli was very old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel. He knew, for instance, that his sons were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle.H5941H3966H2204H8085H1121H6213H3478H7901H802H6633H6607H168H415023Eli said to them, "I have been hearing reports from all the people about the wicked things you are doing. Why do you keep sinning?H559H6213H1697H8085H7451H1697H597124You must stop, my sons! The reports I hear among the LORD's people are not good.H1121H2896H8052H8085H3068H5971H567425If someone sins against another person, God can mediate for the guilty party. But if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede?" But Eli's sons wouldn't listen to their father, for the LORD was already planning to put them to death.H376H2398H376H430H6419H376H2398H3068H6419H8085H6963H1H3068H2654H419126Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew taller and grew in favor with the LORD and with the people.H5288H8050H1432H1980H2896H3068H58227One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the LORD: "I revealed myself to your ancestors when the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt.H935H376H430H5941H559H559H3068H1540H1540H1004H1H4714H6547H100428I chose your ancestor Aaron from among all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the priestly vest as he served me. And I assigned the sacrificial offerings to you priests.H977H7626H3478H3548H5927H4196H6999H7004H5375H646H6440H5414H1004H1H801H1121H347829So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!H1163H2077H4503H6680H4583H3513H1121H1254H7225H4503H3478H597130"Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.H3068H430H3478H5002H559H559H1004H1004H1H1980H6440H5704H5769H3068H5002H2486H3513H3513H959H704331The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age.H3117H935H1438H2220H2220H1H1004H2205H100432You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days.H5027H6862H4583H3190H3478H2205H1004H311733Those who survive will live in sadness and grief, and their children will die a violent death.H376H3772H4196H3615H5869H109H5315H4768H1004H4191H58234And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!H226H935H8147H1121H2652H6372H259H3117H4191H814735"Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever.H6965H539H3548H6213H3824H5315H1129H539H1004H1980H6440H4899H311736Then all of your surviving family will bow before him, begging for money and food. 'Please,' they will say, 'give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat.'"H3498H1004H935H7812H95H3701H3603H3899H559H5596H259H3550H398H6595H3899
1Samuel 3
3Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the LORD by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the LORD were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.H5288H8050H8334H3068H6440H5941H1697H3068H3368H3117H6555H23772One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed.H3117H5941H7901H4725H5869H2490H3544H3201H72003The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God.H5216H430H3518H1964H3068H727H430H8050H79014Suddenly the LORD called out, "Samuel!" "Yes?" Samuel replied. "What is it?"H3068H7121H8050H5595He got up and ran to Eli. "Here I am. Did you call me?" "I didn't call you," Eli replied. "Go back to bed." So he did.H7323H5941H559H2009H7121H559H7121H7901H7725H3212H79016Then the LORD called out again, "Samuel!" Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. "Here I am. Did you call me?" "I didn't call you, my son," Eli said. "Go back to bed."H3068H7121H3254H8050H8050H6965H3212H5941H559H7121H559H7121H1121H7901H77257Samuel did not yet know the LORD because he had never had a message from the LORD before.H8050H2962H3045H3068H1697H3068H15408So the LORD called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. "Here I am. Did you call me?" Then Eli realized it was the LORD who was calling the boy.H3068H7121H8050H3254H7992H6965H3212H5941H559H7121H5941H995H3068H7121H52889So he said to Samuel, "Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, 'Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went back to bed.H5941H559H8050H3212H7901H7121H559H1696H3068H5650H8085H8050H3212H7901H472510And the LORD came and called as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel replied, "Speak, your servant is listening."H3068H935H3320H7121H6471H8050H8050H8050H559H1696H5650H808511Then the LORD said to Samuel, "I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel.H3068H559H8050H6213H1697H3478H8147H241H8085H675012I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end.H3117H6965H5941H1696H413H1004H2490H361513I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn't disciplined them.H5046H8199H1004H5704H5769H5771H3045H1121H7043H354314So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings."H7650H1004H5941H5771H5941H1004H3722H2077H4503H5704H576915Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the LORD had said to him.H8050H7901H1242H6605H1817H1004H3068H8050H3372H5046H5941H475916But Eli called out to him, "Samuel, my son." "Here I am," Samuel replied.H5941H7121H8050H559H8050H1121H55917"What did the LORD say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!"H559H1697H1696H3582H430H6213H3254H3582H1697H1697H169618So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn't hold anything back. "It is the LORD's will," Eli replied. "Let him do what he thinks best."H8050H5046H1697H3582H559H3068H6213H5869H289619As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.H8050H1431H3068H1697H5307H77620And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.H3478H1835H884H3045H8050H539H5030H306821The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle.H3068H7200H3254H7887H3068H1540H8050H7887H1697H3068
Psalms 78
78[A psalm of Asaph.] O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying,H4905H623H238H5971H8451H5186H241H561H63102for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—H6605H6310H4912H5042H2420H69243stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us.H8085H3045H1H56084We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.H3582H1121H5608H1755H314H8416H3068H5807H6381H62135For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children,H6965H5715H3290H7760H8451H3478H6680H1H3045H11216so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children.H1755H314H3045H1121H3205H6965H5608H11217So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.H7760H3689H430H7911H4611H410H5341H46878Then they will not be like their ancestors—stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.H1H5637H4784H1755H1755H3559H3820H3559H7307H539H4109The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle.H1121H669H5401H7411H7198H2015H3117H712810They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his instructions.H8104H1285H430H3985H3212H845111They forgot what he had done—the great wonders he had shown them,H7911H5949H6381H720012the miracles he did for their ancestors on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.H6382H6213H5048H1H776H4714H7704H681413For he divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls!H1234H3220H5674H4325H5324H506714In the daytime he led them by a cloud, and all night by a pillar of fire.H3119H5148H6051H3915H216H78415He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them water, as from a gushing spring.H1234H6697H4057H8248H7227H841516He made streams pour from the rock, making the waters flow down like a river!H3318H5140H5553H4325H3381H510417Yet they kept on sinning against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.H2398H3254H4784H5945H672318They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved.H5254H410H3824H7592H400H531519They even spoke against God himself, saying, “God can’t give us food in the wilderness.H1696H430H559H3201H410H6186H7979H405720Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out, but he can’t give his people bread and meat.”H5221H6697H4325H2100H5158H7857H3201H5414H3899H3201H3559H7607H597121When the Lord heard them, he was furious. The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob. Yes, his anger rose against Israel,H3068H8085H5674H784H5400H3290H639H5927H347822for they did not believe God or trust him to care for them.H539H430H982H344423But he commanded the skies to open; he opened the doors of heaven.H6680H7834H4605H6605H1817H806424He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them bread from heaven.H4305H4478H398H5414H1715H806425They ate the food of angels! God gave them all they could hold.H376H398H47H3899H7971H6720H764826He released the east wind in the heavens and guided the south wind by his mighty power.H6921H5265H8064H5797H5090H848627He rained down meat as thick as dust—birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore!H4305H7607H6083H3671H5775H2344H322028He caused the birds to fall within their camp and all around their tents.H5307H7130H4264H5439H490829The people ate their fill. He gave them what they craved.H398H3966H7646H935H837830But before they satisfied their craving, while the meat was yet in their mouths,H2114H8378H400H631031the anger of God rose against them, and he killed their strongest men. He struck down the finest of Israel’s young men.H639H430H5927H2026H4924H3766H970H347832But in spite of this, the people kept sinning. Despite his wonders, they refused to trust him.H2398H539H638133So he ended their lives in failure, their years in terror.H3117H3615H1892H8141H92834When God began killing them, they finally sought him. They repented and took God seriously.H2026H1875H7725H7836H41035Then they remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their redeemer.H2142H430H6697H5945H410H135036But all they gave him was lip service; they lied to him with their tongues.H6601H6310H3576H395637Their hearts were not loyal to him. They did not keep his covenant.H3820H3559H539H128538Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins and did not destroy them all. Many times he held back his anger and did not unleash his fury!H7349H3722H5771H7843H7235H7725H639H7725H5782H253439For he remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns.H2142H1320H7307H1980H772540Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved his heart in that dry wasteland.H4100H4784H4057H6087H345241Again and again they tested God’s patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel.H7725H5254H410H8428H6918H347842They did not remember his power and how he rescued them from their enemies.H2142H3027H3117H6299H686243They did not remember his miraculous signs in Egypt, his wonders on the plain of Zoan.H7760H226H4714H4159H7704H681444For he turned their rivers into blood, so no one could drink from the streams.H2015H2975H1818H5140H835445He sent vast swarms of flies to consume them and hordes of frogs to ruin them.H7971H6157H398H6854H784346He gave their crops to caterpillars; their harvest was consumed by locusts.H5414H2981H2625H3018H69747He destroyed their grapevines with hail and shattered their sycamore-figs with sleet.H2026H1612H1259H8256H260248He abandoned their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning.H5462H1165H1259H4735H756549He loosed on them his fierce anger—all his fury, rage, and hostility. He dispatched against them a band of destroying angels.H7971H2740H639H5678H2195H6869H4917H7451H439750He turned his anger against them; he did not spare the Egyptians’ lives but ravaged them with the plague.H6424H5410H639H2820H5315H4194H5462H2416H5462H169851He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family, the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt.H5221H1060H4714H7225H202H168H252652But he led his own people like a flock of sheep, guiding them safely through the wilderness.H5971H5265H6629H5090H4057H573953He kept them safe so they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies.H5148H983H6342H3220H3680H34154He brought them to the border of his holy land, to this land of hills he had won for them.H935H1366H6944H2022H3225H706955He drove out the nations before them; he gave them their inheritance by lot. He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes.H1644H1471H6440H5307H5159H2256H7626H3478H7931H16856But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High. They did not obey his laws.H5254H4784H5945H430H8104H571357They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as a crooked bow.H5472H898H1H2015H7423H719858They angered God by building shrines to other gods; they made him jealous with their idols.H3707H1116H7065H645659When God heard them, he was very angry, and he completely rejected Israel.H430H8085H5674H3966H3988H347860Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people.H5203H4908H7887H168H7931H12061He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured; he surrendered his glory into enemy hands.H5414H5797H7628H8597H6862H302762He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword, because he was so angry with his own people—his special possession.H5462H5971H5462H2719H5674H515963Their young men were killed by fire; their young women died before singing their wedding songs.H784H398H970H1330H198464Their priests were slaughtered, and their widows could not mourn their deaths.H3548H5307H2719H490H105865Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep, like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor.H136H3364H3463H1368H7442H319666He routed his enemies and sent them to eternal shame.H5221H6862H268H5414H5769H278167But he rejected Joseph’s descendants; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.H3988H168H3130H977H7626H66968He chose instead the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loved.H977H7626H3063H2022H6726H15769There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens, as solid and enduring as the earth.H1129H4720H7311H776H3245H576970He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens.H977H1732H5650H3947H4356H662971He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants—God’s own people, Israel.H310H5763H935H7462H3290H5971H3478H515972He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands.H7462H8537H3824H5148H8394H3709
Dublin, OH
in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim.H259
