And year by year, whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, she kept on attacking her, so that Hannah gave herself up to weeping and would take no food.

And with grief in her soul, weeping bitterly, she made her prayer to the Lord.

And she made an oath, and said, O Lord of armies, if you will truly take note of the sorrow of your servant, not turning away from me but keeping me in mind, and will give me a man-child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.

Now while she was a long time in prayer before the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth.

For Hannah's prayer came from her heart, and though her lips were moving she made no sound: so it seemed to Eli that she was overcome with wine.

And she said, May your servant have grace in your eyes. So the woman went away, and took part in the feast, and her face was no longer sad.

Now the time came when Hannah, being with child, gave birth to a son; and she gave him the name Samuel, Because, she said, I made a prayer to the Lord for him.

But Hannah did not go, for she said to her husband, I will not go till the child has been taken from the breast, and then I will take him with me and put him before the Lord, where he may be for ever.

Then when she had done so, she took him with her, with a three-year old ox and an ephah of meal and a skin full of wine, and took him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh: now the child was still very young.

And she said, O my lord, as your soul is living, my lord, I am that woman who was making a prayer to the Lord here by your side:

Those who were full are offering themselves as servants for bread; those who were in need are at rest; truly, she who had no children has become the mother of seven; and she who had a family is wasted with sorrow.

And his mother made him a little robe and took it to him every year when she came with her husband for the year's offering.

And the Lord had mercy on Hannah and she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the young Samuel became older before the Lord.

And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child and near the time when she would give birth; and when she had the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, her pains came on her suddenly and she gave birth.

And when she was very near death the women who were with her said, Have no fear, for you have given birth to a son. But she made no answer and gave no attention to it.

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

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

But when the time came to give Merab, Saul's daughter, to David, she was given to Adriel of Meholath.

And Saul said, I will give her to him, so that she may be a cause of danger to him, and so that the hands of the Philistines may be against him. So Saul said to David, Today you are to become my son-in-law for the second time.

Then Michal took the image and put it in the bed, with a cushion of goat's hair at its head, and she put clothing over it.

And when Saul sent men to take David, she said, He is ill.

Now this man was named Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail: she was a woman of good sense and pleasing looks: but the man was cruel and evil in his ways; he was of the family of Caleb.

And she said to her young men, Go on in front of me and I will come after you. But she said nothing to her husband Nabal.

Now while she was going down under cover of the mountain on her ass, David and his men came down against her, and suddenly she came face to face with them.

And when Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her ass, falling down on her face before him.

And falling at his feet she said, May the wrong be on me, my lord, on me: let your servant say a word to you, and give ear to the words of your servant.

And Abigail went back to Nabal; and he was feasting in his house like a king; and Nabal's heart was full of joy, for he had taken much wine; so she said nothing to him till dawn came.

And she got up, and going down on her face to the earth, said, See, I am ready to be a servant-girl, washing the feet of the servants of my lord.

Then Abigail got up quickly and went on her ass, with five of her young women, after the men whom David had sent; and she became David's wife.

And the woman saw that it was Saul, and she gave a loud cry, and said to Saul, Why have you made use of deceit? for you are Saul.

And he said to her, What is his form? And she said, It is an old man coming up covered with a robe. And Saul saw that it was Samuel, and with his face bent down to the earth he gave him honour.

And the woman had in the house a young cow, made fat for food; and she put it to death straight away; and she took meal and got it mixed and made unleavened bread;

And she put it before Saul and his servants, and they had a meal. Then they got up and went away the same night.