New King James Version (NKJV)

The Family of Elkanah

1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of themountains of Ephraim, and his namewasElkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph,an Ephraimite.

2 And he hadtwo wives: the name of onewasHannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 This man went up from his cityyearlyto worship and sacrifice to theLordof hosts inShiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of theLord,werethere.

4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make anoffering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters.

5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah,although theLordhad closed her womb.

6 And her rival alsoprovoked her severely, to make her miserable, because theLordhad closed her womb.

7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of theLord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.

Hannah’s Vow

8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved?AmI notbetter to you than ten sons?”

9 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost ofthe tabernacle of theLord.

10 And shewasin bitterness of soul, and prayed to theLordand wept in anguish.

11 Then shemade a vow and said, “OLordof hosts, if You will indeedlook on the affliction of Your maidservant andremember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to theLordall the days of his life, andno razor shall come upon his head.”

12 And it happened, as she continued praying before theLord, that Eli watched her mouth.

13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”

15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, Iama woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but havepoured out my soul before theLord.

16 “Do not consider your maidservant awicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”

17 Then Eli answered and said,“Go in peace, andthe God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

18 And she said,“Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the womanwent her way and ate, and her face was no longersad.

Samuel Is Born and Dedicated

19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before theLord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanahknew Hannah his wife, and theLordremembered her.

20 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel,saying,“Because I have asked for him from theLord.”

21 Now the man Elkanah and all his housewent up to offer to theLordthe yearly sacrifice and his vow.

22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Notuntil the child is weaned; then I willtake him, that he may appear before theLordandremain thereforever.”

23 SoElkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let theLordestablish His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

24 Now when she had weaned him, shetook him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him tothe house of theLordin Shiloh. And the childwasyoung.

25 Then they slaughtered a bull, andbrought the child to Eli.

26 And she said, “O my lord!As your soul lives, my lord, Iamthe woman who stood by you here, praying to theLord.

27 For this child I prayed, and theLordhas granted me my petition which I asked of Him.

28 Therefore I also have lent him to theLord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to theLord.” So theyworshiped theLordthere.

Hannah’s Prayer

1 And Hannahprayed and said:

# “My heart rejoices in theLord;

# My horn is exalted in theLord.

I smile at my enemies,

# Because Irejoice in Your salvation.

2 “Noone is holy like theLord,

# Forthereisnone besides You,

# Noristhereanyrock like our God.

3 “Talk no more so very proudly;

# Let no arrogance come from your mouth,

# For theLordisthe God ofknowledge;

And by Him actions are weighed.

4 “Thebows of the mighty menarebroken,

And those who stumbled are girded with strength.

5 Thosewhowerefull have hired themselves out for bread,

And the hungry have ceasedtohunger.

# Eventhe barren has borne seven,

# Andshe who has many children has become feeble.

6 “TheLordkills and makes alive;

He brings down to the grave and brings up.

7 TheLordmakes poor and makes rich;

# He brings low and lifts up.

8 He raises the poor from the dust

Andlifts the beggar from the ash heap,

# To setthemamong princes

And make them inherit the throne of glory.

# “For the pillars of the eartharetheLord’s,

And He has set the world upon them.

9 He will guard the feet of His saints,

# But thewicked shall be silent in darkness.

“For by strength no man shall prevail.

10 The adversaries of theLordshall bebroken in pieces;

# From heaven He will thunder against them.

# TheLordwill judge the ends of the earth.

# “He will givestrength to His king,

# Andexalt the horn of His anointed.”

11 Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to theLordbefore Eli the priest.

The Wicked Sons of Eli

12 Now the sons of Eliwerecorrupt;they did not know theLord.

13 And the priests’ custom with the peoplewasthatwhen any man offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling.

14 Then he would thrustitinto the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did inShiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

15 Also, before theyburned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, “Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw.”

16 Andifthe man said to him, “They should really burn the fat first;thenyou may takeasmuchas your heart desires,” he would then answer him, “No,but you must giveitnow; and if not, I will takeitby force.”

17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very greatbefore theLord, for menabhorred the offering of theLord.

Samuel’s Childhood Ministry

18 But Samuel ministered before theLord,evenasa child,wearing a linen ephod.

19 Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bringitto him year by year when shecame up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20 And Eliwould bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “TheLordgive you descendants from this woman for the loan that wasgiven to theLord.” Then they would go to their own home.

21 And theLordvisited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuelgrew before theLord.

Prophecy Against Eli’s Household

22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay withthe women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.

24 No, my sons! Foritisnot a good report that I hear. You make theLord’s people transgress.

25 If one man sins against another,God will judge him. But if a mansins against theLord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father,because theLorddesired to kill them.

26 And the child Samuelgrew in stature, andin favor both with theLordand men.

27 Then aman of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says theLord:‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?

28 Did I notchoose him out of all the tribes of IsraeltobeMy priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? Anddid I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?

29 Why do youkick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commandedinMydwelling place, and honor your sons more thanMe, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’

30 Therefore theLordGod of Israel says:‘I said indeedthatyour house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now theLordsays:‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, andthose who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

31 Behold,the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.

32 And you will see an enemyinMydwelling place,despiteall the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not bean old man in your house forever.

33 But any of your menwhomI do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age.

34 Now thisshallbea sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas:in one day they shall die, both of them.

35 ThenI will raise up for Myself a faithful priestwhoshall do according to whatisin My heart and in My mind.I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk beforeMy anointed forever.

36 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will comeandbow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please, put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”

Samuel’s First Prophecy

1 Nowthe boy Samuel ministered to theLordbefore Eli. Andthe word of theLordwas rare in those days;therewasno widespread revelation.

2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eliwaslying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to growso dim that he could not see,

3 and beforethe lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of theLordwhere the ark of Godwas,and while Samuel was lying down,

4 that theLordcalled Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!”

5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

6 Then theLordcalled yet again, “Samuel!”

So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”

7 (Now Samueldid not yet know theLord, nor was the word of theLordyet revealed to him.)

8 And theLordcalled Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.”

Then Eli perceived that theLordhad called the boy.

9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say,‘Speak,Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now theLordcame and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

11 Then theLordsaid to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israelat which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

12 In that day I will perform against Eliall that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

13 For I have told him that I willjudge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, becausehis sons made themselves vile, and hedid not restrain them.

14 And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s houseshall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of theLord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.

16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”

He answered, “Here I am.”

17 And he said, “Whatisthe word thattheLordspoke to you? Please do not hideitfrom me.God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.”

18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said,“ItistheLord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”

19 So Samuelgrew, andtheLordwas with himand let none of his words fall to the ground.

20 And all Israelfrom Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuelhadbeenestablished as a prophet of theLord.

21 Then theLordappeared again in Shiloh. For theLordrevealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh bythe word of theLord.

1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

The Ark of God Captured

# Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped besideEbenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

2 Then thePhilistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.

3 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has theLorddefeated us today before the Philistines?Let us bring the ark of the covenant of theLordfrom Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.”

4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of theLordof hosts,who dwellsbetweenthe cherubim. And thetwo sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas,werethere with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 And when the ark of the covenant of theLordcame into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook.

6 Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “Whatdoesthe sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrewsmean?” Then they understood that the ark of theLordhad come into the camp.

7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said,“Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before.

8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? Thesearethe gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

9 Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews,as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!”

10 So the Philistines fought, andIsrael was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.

11 Alsothe ark of God was captured; andthe two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Death of Eli

12 Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, andcame to Shiloh with his clothes torn anddirt on his head.

13 Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting ona seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and toldit,all the city cried out.

14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “Whatdoesthe sound of this tumultmean?” And the man came quickly and told Eli.

15 Eli was ninety-eight years old, andhis eyes were so dim that he could not see.

16 Then the man said to Eli, “Iamhe who came from the battle. And I fled today from the battle line.”

# And he said,“What happened, my son?”

17 So the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured.”

18 Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

Ichabod

19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was with child,dueto be delivered; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her.

20 And about the time of her deaththe women who stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she regardit.

21 Then she named the childIchabod, saying,“The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

The Philistines and the Ark

1 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought itfrom Ebenezer to Ashdod.

2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house ofDagon and set it by Dagon.

3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon,fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of theLord. So they took Dagon andset it in its place again.

4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of theLord.The head of Dagon and both the palms of its handswerebroken off on the threshold; only Dagon’storsowas left of it.

5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s housetread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6 But thehand of theLordwas heavy on the people of Ashdod, and Heravaged them and struck them withtumors,bothAshdod and itsterritory.

7 And when the men of Ashdod saw howitwas,they said, “The ark of theGod of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.”

8 Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all thelords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?”

# And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away toGath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away.

9 So it was, after they had carried it away, thatthe hand of theLordwas against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors broke out on them.

10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!”

11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” For there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

12 And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and thecry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark Returned to Israel

1 Now the ark of theLordwas in the country of the Philistines seven months.

2 And the Philistinescalled for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of theLord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”

3 So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send itempty; but by all means returnitto Himwitha trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”

4 Then they said, “Whatisthe trespass offering which we shall return to Him?”

# They answered,“Five golden tumors and five golden rats,accordingtothe number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plaguewason all of you and on your lords.

5 Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats thatravage the land, and you shallgive glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He willlighten His hand from you, fromyour gods, and from your land.

6 Why then do you harden your heartsas the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them,did they not let the people go, that they might depart?

7 Now therefore, makea new cart, take two milk cowswhich have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them.

8 Then take the ark of theLordand set it on the cart; and putthe articles of gold which you are returning to Himasa trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go.

9 And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, toBeth Shemesh,thenHe has done us this great evil. But if not, thenwe shall know thatitisnot His handthatstruck us—it happened to us by chance.”

10 Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

11 And they set the ark of theLordon the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors.

12 Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh,andwent along thehighway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

13 NowthepeopleofBeth Shemeshwerereaping theirwheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to seeit.

14 Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stonewasthere. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to theLord.

15 The Levites took down the ark of theLordand the chest thatwaswith it, in whichwerethe articles of gold, and putthemon the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to theLord.

16 So whenthe five lords of the Philistines had seenit,they returned to Ekron the same day.

17 Thesearethe golden tumors which the Philistines returnedasa trespass offering to theLord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one forGath, one for Ekron;

18 and the golden rats,accordingtothe number of all the cities of the Philistinesbelongingto the five lords,bothfortified cities and country villages, even as far as the largestoneofAbel on which they set the ark of theLord,whichstoneremainsto this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

19 ThenHe struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of theLord. Hestruck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because theLordhad struck the people with a great slaughter.

The Ark at Kirjath Jearim

20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said,“Who is able to stand before this holyLordGod? And to whom shall it go up from us?”

21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants ofKirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of theLord; come downandtake it up with you.”

1 Then the men ofKirjath Jearim came and took the ark of theLord, and brought it into the house ofAbinadab on the hill, andconsecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of theLord.

Samuel Judges Israel

2 So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after theLord.

3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If youreturn to theLordwith all your hearts,thenput away the foreign gods and theAshtoreths from among you, andprepare your hearts for theLord, andserve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

4 So the children of Israel put away theBaals and the Ashtoreths, and served theLordonly.

5 And Samuel said,“Gather all Israel to Mizpah, andI will pray to theLordfor you.”

6 So they gathered together at Mizpah,drew water, and poureditout before theLord. And theyfasted that day, and said there,“We have sinned against theLord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

7 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heardofit,they were afraid of the Philistines.

8 So the children of Israel said to Samuel,“Do not cease to cry out to theLordour God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

9 And Samuel took asuckling lamb and offereditasa whole burnt offering to theLord. ThenSamuel cried out to theLordfor Israel, and theLordanswered him.

10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel.But theLordthundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.

11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car.

12 Then Samueltook a stone and setitup between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far theLordhas helped us.”

13 So the Philistines were subdued, and theydid not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of theLordwas against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

15 And Samueljudged Israel all the days of his life.

16 He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places.

17 Buthe always returned to Ramah, for his homewasthere. There he judged Israel, and there hebuilt an altar to theLord.

Israel Demands a King

1 Now it came to pass when Samuel wasold that hemade hissons judges over Israel.

2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah;theywerejudges in Beersheba.

3 But his sonsdid not walk in his ways; they turned asideafter dishonest gain,took bribes, and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,

5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Nowmake us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

6 But the thingdispleased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuelprayed to theLord.

7 And theLordsaid to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; forthey have not rejected you, butthey have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.

8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.

9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, andshow them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

10 So Samuel told all the words of theLordto the people who asked him for a king.

11 And he said,“This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take yoursons and appointthemfor his ownchariots andtobehis horsemen, andsomewill run before his chariots.

12 He willappoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties,willsetsometo plow his ground and reap his harvest, andsometo make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

13 He will take your daughterstobeperfumers, cooks, and bakers.

14 Andhe will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and givethemto his servants.

15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.

16 And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and putthemto his work.

17 He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.

18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and theLordwill not hear you in that day.”

19 Nevertheless the peoplerefused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us,

20 that we also may belike all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of theLord.

22 So theLordsaid to Samuel,“Heed their voice, and make them a king.”

And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”