1 Samuel 2:1

Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer

2:1 Hannah prayed, ¹ 

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

my horn ²  is exalted high because of the Lord.

I loudly denounce ³  my enemies,

for I am happy that you delivered me. ⁴ 

1 Samuel 6:19

6:19 But the Lord ⁵  struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 ⁶  of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow.

1 Samuel 10:25

10:25 Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. ⁷  He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes.

1 Samuel 12:23

12:23 As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright.

1 Samuel 31:9

31:9 They cut off Saul’s ⁸  head and stripped him of his armor. They sent messengers to announce the news in the temple of their idols and among their people throughout the surrounding land of the Philistines.

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “prayed and said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[2:1]  ² sn Horns of animals have always functioned as both offensive and defensive weapons for them. As a figure of speech the horn is therefore often used in the Bible as a symbol of human strength (see also in v. 10). The allusion in v. 1 to the horn being lifted high suggests a picture of an animal elevating its head in a display of strength or virility.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “my mouth opens wide against.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “for I rejoice in your deliverance.”

[6:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:19]  ⁶ tc The number 50,070 is surprisingly large, although it finds almost unanimous textual support in the MT and in the ancient versions. Only a few medieval Hebrew mss lack “50,000,” reading simply “70” instead. However, there does not seem to be sufficient external evidence to warrant reading 70 rather than 50,070, although that is done by a number of recent translations (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The present translation (reluctantly) follows the MT and the ancient versions here.

[10:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “the regulation of the kingship.” This probably refers to the regulations pertaining to kingship given to Moses (see Deut 17:14-20).

[31:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse).