Feb 27 - 1 Samuel 1-3
1 Samuel
1There was a certain man from Ramah of Zophim, on Mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite2And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the second was Peninnah. And Peninnah had sons. But Hannah did not have children3And this man went up from his city, on the established days, so that he might adore and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests of the Lord, were in that place4Then the day arrived, and Elkanah immolated. And he gave portions to his wife Peninnah, and to all her sons and daughters5But to Hannah he gave one portion with sorrow. For he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb6And her rival afflicted her and vehemently distressed her, to a great extent, for she rebuked her that the Lord had closed her womb7And she did so every year, when the time returned for them to ascend to the temple of the Lord. And she provoked her in this way. And so, she wept and did not take food8Therefore, her husband Elkanah said to her: "Hannah, why are you weeping? And why do you not eat? And for what reason do you afflict your heart? Am I not better to you than ten sons?9And so, after she ate and drank at Shiloh, Hannah rose up. And Eli, the priest, was sitting on the seat before the door of the temple of the Lord10And since Hannah was bitter in soul, she prayed to the Lord, weeping greatly11And she made a vow, saying, "O Lord of hosts, if, in looking with favor, you will see the affliction of your servant and will remember me, and will not forget your handmaid, and if you will give to your servant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall pass over his head.12Then it happened that, while she multiplied prayers before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth13For Hannah was speaking in her heart, and only her lips moved, and her voice was barely heard. Therefore, Eli considered her to be drunk14and so he said to her: "How long will you be inebriated? You should take only a little wine, but instead you are drenched.15Responding, Hannah said: "By no means, my lord. For I am an exceedingly unhappy woman, and I drank neither wine, nor anything that can inebriate. Instead, I have poured out my soul in the sight of the Lord16You should not repute your handmaid as one of the daughters of Belial. For I have been speaking from the abundance of my sorrow and grief, even until now.17Then Eli said to her: "Go in peace. And may the God of Israel grant to you your petition, which you have begged of him.18And she said, "I wish that your handmaid may find grace in your eyes." And the woman went on her way, and she ate, and her countenance was no longer changed for the worse19And they rose up in the morning, and they worshipped before the Lord. And they returned and arrived at their own house at Ramah. Then Elkanah knew his wife Hannah. And the Lord remembered her20And it happened that, in the course of days, Hannah conceived and bore a son. And she called his name Samuel, because she had requested him from the Lord21Now her husband Elkanah ascended with his entire house, so that he might immolate to the Lord a solemn sacrifice, with his vow22But Hannah did not go up. For she said to her husband, "I will not go, until the infant has been weaned, and until I may lead him, so that he may appear before the sight of the Lord, and may remain always there.23And her husband Elkanah said to her: "Do what seems good to you, and stay until you wean him. And I pray that the Lord may fulfill his word." Therefore, the woman remained at home, and she breastfed her son, until she withdrew him from milk24And after she had weaned him, she brought him with her, along with three calves, and three measures of flour, and a small bottle of wine, and she led him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. But the boy was still a young child25And they immolated a calf, and they presented the boy to Eli26And Hannah said: "I beg you, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord: I am that woman, who stood before you here, praying to the Lord27I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted to me my petition, which I asked of him28Because of this, I have also lent him to the Lord, for all the days when he shall be lent to the Lord." And they adored the Lord in that place. And Hannah prayed, and she said
1"My heart exults in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies. For I have rejoiced in your salvation2Nothing is holy as the Lord is holy. For there is no other beside you. And nothing is strong as our God is strong3Do not continue speaking of great things, boasting. Let what is old depart from your mouth. For the Lord is the God of knowledge, and thoughts are prepared for him4The bow of the powerful has been overwhelmed, and the weak have been girded with strength5Those who before were filled, have hired themselves out for bread. And the starving have been filled, so that the barren have given birth to many. But she who had borne many sons has become unable6The Lord brings death, and he gives life. He leads away to death, and he brings back again7The Lord impoverishes, and he enriches. He humbles, and he lifts up8He raises up the indigent from the dust, and he lifts up the poor from filth, so that they may sit with princes, and take hold of a throne of glory. For the hinges of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the globe upon them9He will preserve the feet of his holy ones, and the impious will be silenced in darkness. For no man will prevail by his own strength10The adversaries of the Lord will dread him. And over them, he will thunder in the heavens. The Lord will judge the parts of the earth, and he will give dominion to his king, and he will lift up the horn of his Christ.11And Elkanah went away to Ramah, to his house. But the boy was a minister in the sight of the Lord, before the face of Eli, the priest12But the sons of Eli were sons of Belial, not knowing the Lord13nor the priestly office for the people. And so, no matter who had immolated a victim, the servant of the priest would arrive, while the flesh was still cooking, and he would take a three-pronged hook in his hand14and put it into the vessel, or into the cauldron, or into the cooking pot, or into the pan, and all that the hook lifted up, the priest took for himself. So they did to all of Israel who arrived at Shiloh15In addition, before they burned the fat, the servant of the priest would arrive, and he would say to the one who was immolating: "Give me the flesh, so that I may boil it for the priest. For I will not accept cooked meat from you, but raw.16And the one who was immolating would say to him, "First, allow the fat to be burned today, according to custom, and then take for yourself whatever your soul desires." But in response, he would say to him: "By no means. For you will give it to me now, otherwise I will take it by force.17Therefore, the sin of the servants was exceedingly great before the Lord. For they drew men away from the sacrifice of the Lord18But Samuel was ministering before the face of the Lord; he was a youth girded with a linen ephod19And his mother fashioned a little tunic for him, which she brought to him on the appointed days, ascending with her husband, so that he might immolate the solemn sacrifice20And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife. And he said to him, "May the Lord repay to you offspring from this woman, on behalf of the loan that you offered to the Lord." And they went away to their own place21Then the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the youth Samuel was magnified with the Lord22Now Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons were doing to all of Israel, and how they were sleeping with the women who were waiting at the door of the tabernacle23And he said to them: "Why are you doing these kinds of things, very wicked things, that I have heard from all the people24My sons, do not be willing. For it is no good report that I am hearing, so that you would cause the people of the Lord to transgress25If a man has sinned against a man, God may be able to be appeased over him. But if a man has sinned against the Lord, who will pray for him?" But they did not listen to the voice of their father, that the Lord was willing to kill them26But the youth Samuel advanced, and grew up, and he was pleasing to the Lord, as well as to men27Then a man of God went to Eli, and he said to him: "Thus says the Lord: Was I not revealed openly to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh28And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel for myself as priest, so that he might ascend to my altar, and burn incense to me, and wear the ephod before me. And I gave to the house of your father all the sacrifices of the sons of Israel29Why have you kicked away my victims and my gifts, which I instructed to be offered in the temple? And why have you given more honor to your sons than to me, so that you eat the first-fruits of every sacrifice of my people Israel30Because of this, the Lord God of Israel says: I have spoken clearly, so that your house, and the house of your father, may minister in my sight, even forever. But now the Lord says: May this be far from me. Instead, whoever will have glorified me, I will glorify him. But whoever despises me, they will be despised31Behold the days are arriving, when I will cut off your arm, and the arm of the house of your father, so that there will not be an old man in your house32And you will see your rival in the temple, amid all the prosperity of Israel. And there will not be an old man in your house for all days33Yet truly, I will not entirely take away a man of you from my altar, but such that your eyes may fail, and your soul may melt away, and a great part of your house may die out, as it pertains to the state of men34But this will be a sign to you, which will happen to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on one day they both will die35And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will act in accord with my heart and my soul. And I will build a faithful house for him. And he will walk before my Christ for all days36Then this will be in the future, that whoever will have remained of your house, he will approach so that he may pray on his behalf. And he will offer a coin of silver, and a twist of bread. And he will say: ‘Permit me, I beg you, one part of the priestly office, so that I may eat a mouthful of bread.’
1Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no manifest vision2Then it happened that, on a certain day, Eli was lying in his place. And his eyes had dimmed, so that he was unable to see3And so, to prevent the lamp of God from going out, Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was4And the Lord called Samuel. And responding, he said, "Here I am.5And he ran to Eli, and he said, "Here I am. For you called me." And he said: "I did not call. Return and sleep." And he went away, and he slept6And again, the Lord continued to call to Samuel. And rising up, Samuel went to Eli, and he said: "Here I am. For you called me." And he responded: "I did not call you, my son. Return and sleep.7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not been revealed to him8And the Lord continued, and he called to Samuel still a third time. And rising up, he went to Eli9And he said: "Here I am. For you called me." Then Eli understood that the Lord had called the boy. And he said to Samuel: "Go and sleep. And if he calls to you from now on, you will say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ " Therefore, Samuel went away, and he slept in his place10And the Lord came, and stood, and he called, just as he had called the other times, "Samuel, Samuel." And Samuel said, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.11And the Lord said to Samuel: "Behold, I am accomplishing a word in Israel. Whoever will hear about it, both his ears will ring12In that day, I will raise up against Eli all the things that I have spoken over his house. I will begin, and I will finish13For I have foretold to him that I will judge his house unto eternity, because of iniquity. For he had known that his sons acted shamefully, and he did not chastise them14For this reason, I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of his house will not be expiated, with victims or with gifts, even forever.15Then Samuel slept until morning, and he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli16Then Eli called Samuel, and he said, "Samuel, my son?" And responding, he said, "I am here.17And he questioned him: "What is the word that the Lord has spoken to you? I beg you that you may not conceal it from me. May God do these things to you, and may he add these other things, if you hide from me one word out of all the things that were told to you.18And so, Samuel revealed to him all the words, and he did not hide them from him. And he responded: "He is the Lord. May he do what is good in his own eyes.19And Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, and not one of his words fell to the ground20And all of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, knew Samuel to be a faithful prophet of the Lord21And the Lord continued to appear in Shiloh. For the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh, according to the word of the Lord. And the word about Samuel went forth to all of Israel