Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill-country of Ephraim. And his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, and Ephraimite.

And he had two wives: the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

And this man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice to LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests to LORD, were there.

And when the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions,

And her rival provoked her greatly, to make her fret, because LORD had shut up her womb.

And [as] he did so year by year when she went up to the house of LORD, so she provoked her. Therefore she wept, and did not eat.

And Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do thou weep? And why do thou not eat? And why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten sons?

So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest was sitting upon his seat by the door-post of the temple of LORD.

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to LORD, and wept much.

And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou will indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but will give to thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him to LORD all t

And it came to pass, as she continued praying before LORD, that Eli noticed her mouth.

And Eli said to her, How long will thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee.

And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before LORD.

Count not thy handmaid for an iniquitous woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and my provocation have I spoken until now.

Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thy petition that thou have asked of him.

And she said, Let thy handmaid find favor in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and ate, and her countenance was no more [sad].

And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and LORD remembered her.

And it came to pass, when the time came about, that Hannah conceived, and bore a son. And she called his name Samuel, [saying], Because I have asked him of LORD.

And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer to LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.

But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, [Not] until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before LORD, and abide there forever.

And Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seems good to thee. Remain until thou have weaned him, only LORD establish his word. So the woman remained and gave her son suck, until she weaned him.

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of meal, and a bottle of wine, and brought him to the house of LORD in Shiloh, and the child was young.

And they killed the bullock, and brought the child to Eli.

And she said, Oh, my lord, as thy soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by thee here, praying to LORD.

I prayed for this child, and LORD has given me my petition which I asked of him.

Therefore also I have granted him to LORD; as long as he lives he is granted to LORD. And he worshipped LORD there.

And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exults in LORD. My horn is exalted in LORD. My mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I rejoice in thy salvation.

Talk no more so very proudly. Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth, for LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength.

Those who were full have hired out themselves for bread, and those who were hungry have ceased [to hunger]. Yea, the barren has borne seven, and she who has many sons languishes.

LORD kills, and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.

LORD makes poor, and makes rich. He brings low, he also lifts up.

He raises up the poor out of the dust, he lifts up the needy from the dunghill, to make them sit with rulers, and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are LORD's, and he has set the world upon them.

Those who strive with LORD shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in heaven. LORD will judge the ends of the earth, and he will give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house, and the child ministered to LORD before Eli the priest.

And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand,

and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot. All that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took with it. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

And before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, for he will not have boiled flesh from thee, but raw.

And if the man said to him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as thy soul desires, then he would say, No, but thou shall give it to me now, and if not, I will take it by force.

And the sin of the young men was very great before LORD, for the men despised the offering of LORD.

Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

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

And LORD visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before LORD.

Now Eli was very old. And he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tent of meeting.

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

And the child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with LORD, and also with men.

And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, Thus says LORD, Did I reveal myself to the house of thy father when they were in Egypt [in bondage] to Pharaoh's house?

And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? And did I give to the house of thy father all the offerings of the sons of Israel made by fire

Why do ye kick at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in [my] habitation, and honor thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chief of all the offerings of Israel my people?

Therefore LORD, the God of Israel, says, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever, but now LORD says, Be it far from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me

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.

And thou shall see an enemy [in my] habitation, in all that I shall give Israel, and there shall not be an old man in thy house forever.

And the man of thine, [whom] I shall not cut off from my altar, [shall be] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart. And all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age.

And this shall be the sign to thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: In one day they shall die, both of them.

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

And it shall come to pass, that everyone who is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices that I may eat a morse

And the child Samuel served LORD before Eli. And the word of LORD was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision.

And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim so that he could not see),

and the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down in the temple of LORD where the ark of God was,

that LORD called Samuel. And he said, Here I am.

And he ran to Eli, and said, Here I am, for thou called me. And he said, I did not call. Lay down again. And he went and lay down.

And LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for thou called me. And he answered, I did not call, my son. Lay down again.

And LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for thou called me. And Eli perceived that LORD had called the child.

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go, lay down, and it shall be, if he calls thee, that thou shall say, Speak, LORD, for thy servant hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

And LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant hears.

And LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hears it shall tingle.

In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end.

For I have told him that I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse upon themselves, and he did not restrain them.

And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated with sacrifice nor offering forever.

And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of LORD. And Samuel was afraid to show Eli the vision.

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here I am.

And he said, What is the thing that [LORD] has spoken to thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me. God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to thee.

And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is LORD. Let him do what seems him good.

And Samuel grew, and LORD was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground.

And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of LORD.

And LORD appeared again in Shiloh, for LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of LORD.

And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines; and they killed of the army in the field about four thousand men.

And when the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has LORD smitten us today before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of LORD out of Shiloh to us, that it may come among us, and save us out o

So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of LORD of hosts, who sits [above] the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

And when the ark of the covenant of LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again.

And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What is the meaning of the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of LORD came into the camp.

And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God has come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! For there has not been such a thing heretofore.

Be strong, and strengthen yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight.

And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man to his tent. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

And the ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.

And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn, and with dirt upon his head.

And when he came, lo, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.

And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What does the noise of this tumult mean? And the man hastened, and came and told Eli.

Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were dim so that he could not see.

And the man said to Eli, I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. And he said, How did the matter go, my son?

And he who brought the news answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people. And thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.

And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that [Eli] fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate. And his neck broke, and he died, for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty year

And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and brought forth, fo

And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, Fear not, for thou have brought forth a son. But she did not answer, neither did she regard it.

And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

And she said, The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.

Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.

And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.

And when those of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.