And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

But to Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah; but the LORD had rendered her barren.

And her adversary also provoked her greatly, to make her fret, because the LORD had made her barren.

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

Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?

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

Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

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

And she said, Let thy handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

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

But Hannah went not up; for she said to her husband, I will not go up until the child is weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.

And Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seemeth to thee good; tarry until thou hast weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and nursed her son until she weaned him.

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

And she said, O my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying to the LORD.

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

That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

And he ran to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

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

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

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

And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law, and her husband were dead, she bowed herself, and travailed; for her pains came upon her.

And about the time of her death, the women that stood by her said to her, Fear not; for thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.

And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory hath departed from Israel. (Because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.)

And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.

And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them, Is the seer here?

And behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.

Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed; whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes with it? and I will restore it you.

And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there.

And Samuel said to Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him: for we will not sit down till he hath come hither.

And Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee for a wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD'S battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.

And Saul said, I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law, in the one of the two.

And David said to Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand a spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.

And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it to me.

And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord.

And David's men said to him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?

And she said to her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.

And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and behold, David and his men came down over against her; and she met them.

And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground.

So David received from her hand that which she had brought him, and said to her, Return in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.

And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to himself for a wife.

And when the servants of David had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, David hath sent us to thee, to take thee to him for a wife.

And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thy handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

Then said Saul to his servants, seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor.

And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.

And the king said to her be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said to Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.

And he said to her, What is his form? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell to me to this day?