1 Samuel 7:15

7:15 So Samuel led ¹  Israel all the days of his life.

1 Samuel 7:1

7:1 Then the people ²  of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord; they brought it to the house of Abinadab located on the hill. They consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord.

1 Samuel 2:1-36

Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer

2:1 Hannah prayed, ³ 

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

my horn ⁴  is exalted high because of the Lord.

I loudly denounce ⁵  my enemies,

for I am happy that you delivered me. ⁶ 

2:2 No one is holy ⁷  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ⁸  like our God!

2:3 Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly, ⁹ 

letting proud talk come out of your mouth!

For the Lord is a God who knows;

he ¹⁰  evaluates what people do.

2:4 The bows of warriors are shattered,

but those who stumble find their strength reinforced.

2:5 Those who are well-fed hire themselves out to earn food,

but the hungry no longer lack.

Even ¹¹  the barren woman gives birth to seven, ¹² 

but the one with many children withers away. ¹³ 

2:6 The Lord both kills and gives life;

he brings down to the grave ¹⁴  and raises up.

2:7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;

he humbles and he exalts.

2:8 He lifts the weak ¹⁵  from the dust;

he raises ¹⁶  the poor from the ash heap

to seat them with princes

and to bestow on them an honored position. ¹⁷ 

The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord,

and he has placed the world on them.

2:9 He watches over ¹⁸  his holy ones, ¹⁹ 

but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness,

for it is not by one’s own strength that one prevails.

2:10 The Lord shatters ²⁰  his adversaries; ²¹ 

he thunders against them from ²²  the heavens.

The Lord executes judgment to the ends of the earth.

He will strengthen ²³  his king

and exalt the power ²⁴  of his anointed one.” ²⁵ 

2:11 Then Elkanah went back home to Ramah. But the boy was serving the Lord under the supervision of ²⁶  Eli the priest.

Eli’s Sons Misuse Their Sacred Office

2:12 The sons of Eli were wicked men. ²⁷  They did not recognize the Lord’s authority. ²⁸  2:13 Now the priests would always treat the people in the following way: ²⁹  Whenever anyone was making a sacrifice, while the meat was boiling, the priest’s attendant would come with a three-pronged fork ³⁰  in his hand. 2:14 He would jab it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or pot, and everything that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they used to do to all the Israelites ³¹  when they came there to Shiloh.

2:15 Even before they burned the fat, the priest’s attendant would come and say to the person who was making the sacrifice, “Hand over some meat for the priest to roast! He won’t take boiled meat from you, but only raw.” ³²  2:16 If the individual said to him, “First let the fat be burned away, and then take for yourself whatever you wish,” he would say, “No! ³³  Hand it over right now! If you don’t, I will take it forcibly!”

2:17 The sin of these young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they ³⁴  treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.

2:18 Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord. The boy was dressed in a linen ephod. 2:19 His mother used to make him a small robe and bring it up to him at regular intervals when she would go up with her husband to make the annual sacrifice. 2:20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord raise up for you descendants ³⁵  from this woman to replace the one that she ³⁶  dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would go to their ³⁷  home. 2:21 So the Lord graciously attended to Hannah, and she was able to conceive and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the Lord’s sanctuary. ³⁸ 

2:22 Now Eli was very old when he heard about everything that his sons used to do to all the people of Israel ³⁹  and how they used to have sex with ⁴⁰  the women who were stationed at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 2:23 He said to them, “Why do you behave in this way? For I hear about these evil things from all these ⁴¹  people. 2:24 This ought not to be, ⁴²  my sons! For the report that I hear circulating among the Lord’s people is not good. 2:25 If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf. But if a man sins against the Lord, who then will intercede for him?” But Eli’s sons ⁴³  would not listen to their father, for the Lord had decided ⁴⁴  to kill them.

2:26 Now the boy Samuel was growing up and finding favor both with the Lord and with people.

The Lord Judges the House of Eli

2:27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not plainly ⁴⁵  reveal myself to your ancestor’s ⁴⁶  house when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh? 2:28 I chose your ancestor ⁴⁷  from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor’s house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites. 2:29 Why are you ⁴⁸  scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place? ⁴⁹  You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.’

2:30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say ⁵⁰  that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve ⁵¹  me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be! ⁵²  For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed! 2:31 In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength ⁵³  and the strength ⁵⁴  of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house! 2:32 You will see trouble in my dwelling place! ⁵⁵  Israel will experience blessings, ⁵⁶  but there will not be an old man in your ⁵⁷  house for all time. ⁵⁸  2:33 Any one of you that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause your ⁵⁹  eyes to fail ⁶⁰  and will cause you grief. ⁶¹  All of those born to your family ⁶²  will die in the prime of life. ⁶³  2:34 This will be a confirming sign for you that will be fulfilled through your two sons, ⁶⁴  Hophni and Phinehas: in a single day they both will die! 2:35 Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what is in my heart and soul. I will build for him a secure dynasty ⁶⁵  and he will serve my chosen one for all time. ⁶⁶  2:36 Everyone who remains in your house will come to bow before him for a little money ⁶⁷  and for a scrap of bread. Each will say, ‘Assign me to a priestly task so I can eat a scrap of bread.’”

1 Samuel 6:1-21

The Philistines Return the Ark

6:1 When the ark of the Lord had been in the land ⁶⁸  of the Philistines for seven months, ⁶⁹  6:2 the Philistines called the priests and the omen readers, saying, “What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Advise us as to how we should send it back to its place.”

6:3 They replied, “If you are going to send the ark of ⁷⁰  the God of Israel back, don’t send it away empty. Be sure to return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why his hand is not removed from you.” 6:4 They inquired, “What is the guilt offering that we should send to him?”

They replied, “The Philistine leaders number five. So send five gold sores and five gold mice, for it is the same plague that has afflicted both you and your leaders. 6:5 You should make images of the sores and images of the mice ⁷¹  that are destroying the land. You should honor the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his grip on you, your gods, and your land. ⁷²  6:6 Why harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? ⁷³  When God ⁷⁴  treated them harshly, didn’t the Egyptians send the Israelites on their way? ⁷⁵  6:7 So now go and make a new cart. Get two cows that have calves and that have never had a yoke placed on them. Harness the cows to the cart and take their calves from them back to their stalls. 6:8 Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, and put in a chest beside it the gold objects you are sending to him as a guilt offering. You should then send it on its way. 6:9 But keep an eye on it. If it should go up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has brought this great calamity on us. But if that is not the case, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us; rather, it just happened to us by accident.”

6:10 So the men did as instructed. ⁷⁶  They took two cows that had calves and harnessed them to a cart; they also removed their calves to their stalls. 6:11 They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the chest, the gold mice, and the images of the sores. 6:12 Then the cows went directly on the road to Beth Shemesh. They went along, mooing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left. The leaders of the Philistines were walking along behind them all the way to the border of Beth Shemesh.

6:13 Now the residents of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they were pleased at the sight. 6:14 The cart was coming to the field of Joshua, who was from Beth Shemesh. It paused there near a big stone. Then they cut up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 6:15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, which contained the gold objects. They placed them near the big stone. At that time the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 6:16 The five leaders of the Philistines watched what was happening and then returned to Ekron on the same day.

6:17 These are the gold sores that the Philistines brought as a guilt offering to the Lord – one for each of the following cities: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 6:18 The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel, ⁷⁷  where they positioned the ark of the Lord until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh.

6:19 But the Lord ⁷⁸  struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 ⁷⁹  of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow. 6:20 The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark ⁸⁰  go up from here?”

6:21 So they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down here and take it back home with you.”

[7:15]  ¹ tn Heb “judged” (also in v. 17).

[7:1]  ² tn Heb “men.”

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “prayed and said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[2:1]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “my mouth opens wide against.”

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “for I rejoice in your deliverance.”

[2:2]  ⁴ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

[2:2]  ⁵ tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “proudly, proudly.” If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.

[2:3]  ⁶ tc The MT (Qere) reads “and by him actions are weighed.” The translation assumes that reading of the Qere וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and by him”), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib וְלוֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[2:5]  ⁶ tc Against BHS but with the MT, the preposition (עַד, ’ad) should be taken with what follows rather than with what precedes. For this sense of the preposition see Job 25:5.

[2:5]  ⁷ sn The number seven is used here in an ideal sense. Elsewhere in the OT having seven children is evidence of fertility as a result of God’s blessing on the family. See, for example, Jer 15:9, Ruth 4:15.

[2:5]  ⁸ tn Or “languishes.”

[2:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “Sheol”; NAB “the nether world”; CEV “the world of the dead.”

[2:8]  ⁸ tn Or “lowly”; Heb “insignificant.”

[2:8]  ⁹ tn The imperfect verbal form, which is parallel to the participle in the preceding line, is best understood here as indicating what typically happens.

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a seat of honor.”

[2:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “guards the feet of.” The expression means that God watches over and protects the godly in all of their activities and movements. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.

[2:9]  ¹⁰ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the plural (“his holy ones”) rather than the singular (“his holy one”) of the Kethib.

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal forms in this line and in the next two lines are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.

[2:10]  ¹¹ tc The present translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate in reading the plural (“his adversaries,” similarly many other English versions) rather than the singular (“his adversary”) of the Kethib.

[2:10]  ¹² tn The Hebrew preposition here has the sense of “from within.”

[2:10]  ¹³ tn The imperfect verbal forms in this and the next line are understood as indicating what is anticipated and translated with the future tense, because at the time of Hannah’s prayer Israel did not yet have a king.

[2:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the horn,” here a metaphor for power or strength. Cf. NCV “make his appointed king strong”; NLT “increases the might of his anointed one.”

[2:10]  ¹⁵ tc The LXX greatly expands v. 10 with an addition that seems to be taken from Jer 9:23-24.

[2:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “with [or “before”] the face of.”

[2:12]  ¹² tn Heb “sons of worthlessness.”

[2:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “they did not know the Lord.” The verb here has the semantic nuance “recognize the authority of.” Eli’s sons obviously knew who the Lord was; they served in his sanctuary. But they did not recognize his moral authority.

[2:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “the habit of the priests with the people [was this].”

[2:13]  ¹⁴ sn The Hebrew word occurs only twice in the OT, here and again in v. 14. Its exact meaning is not entirely clear, although from the context it appears to be a sacrificial tool used for retrieving things from boiling water.

[2:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[2:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “living.”

[2:16]  ¹⁶ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss (“no”) rather than the Kethib and MT, which read “to him.”

[2:17]  ¹⁷ tc Heb “the men,” which is absent from one medieval Hebrew ms, a Qumran ms, and the LXX.

[2:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “seed.”

[2:20]  ¹⁹ tn The MT has a masculine verb here, but in light of the context the reference must be to Hannah. It is possible that the text of the MT is incorrect here (cf. the ancient versions), in which case the text should be changed to read either a passive participle or better, the third feminine singular of the verb. If the MT is correct here, perhaps the masculine is to be understood in a nonspecific and impersonal way, allowing for a feminine antecedent. In any case, the syntax of the MT is unusual here.

[2:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “his.”

[2:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “with the Lord.” Cf. NAB, TEV “in the service of the Lord”; NIV, NRSV, NLT “in the presence of the Lord”; CEV “at the Lord’s house in Shiloh.”

[2:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[2:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “lie with.”

[2:23]  ²¹ tc For “these” the LXX has “of the Lord” (κυρίου, kuriou), perhaps through the influence of the final phrase of v. 24 (“the people of the Lord”). Somewhat less likely is the view that the MT reading is due to a distorted dittography of the first word of v. 24. The Vulgate lacks the word.

[2:24]  ²² tn Heb “no.”

[2:25]  ²³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Eli’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:25]  ²⁴ tn Heb “desired.”

[2:27]  ²⁴ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:27]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to your father’s” (also in vv. 28, 30).

[2:28]  ²⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Eli’s ancestor, i.e., Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:29]  ²⁶ tc The MT has a plural “you” here, but the LXX and a Qumran ms have the singular. The singular may be the correct reading; the verb “you have honored” later in the verse is singular even in the MT. However, it is more probable that the Lord here refers to Eli and his sons. Note the plural in the second half of the verse (“you have made yourselves fat”).

[2:29]  ²⁷ tn Heb “which I commanded, dwelling place.” The noun is functioning as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb. Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun “my” is supplied in the translation.

[2:30]  ²⁷ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “walk about before.”

[2:30]  ²⁹ tn Heb “may it be far removed from me.”

[2:31]  ²⁸ tn Heb “chop off your arm.” The arm here symbolizes strength and activity.

[2:31]  ²⁹ tn Heb “arm.”

[2:32]  ²⁹ tn Heb “you will see [the] trouble of [the] dwelling place.” Since God’s dwelling place/sanctuary is in view, the pronoun is supplied in the translation (see v. 29).

[2:32]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in all which he does good with Israel.”

[2:32]  ³¹ tc The LXX and a Qumran manuscript have the first person pronoun “my” here.

[2:32]  ³² tn Heb “all the days.”

[2:33]  ³⁰ tc The LXX, a Qumran ms, and a few old Latin mss have the third person pronominal suffix “his” here.

[2:33]  ³¹ tn Heb “to cause your eyes to fail.” Elsewhere this verb, when used of eyes, refers to bloodshot eyes resulting from weeping, prolonged staring, or illness (see Lev 26:16; Pss 69:3; 119:82; Lam 2:11; 4:17).

[2:33]  ³² tn Heb “and to cause your soul grief.”

[2:33]  ³³ tn Heb “and all the increase of your house.”

[2:33]  ³⁴ tc The text is difficult. The MT literally says “they will die [as] men.” Apparently the meaning is that they will be cut off in the prime of their life without reaching old age. The LXX and a Qumran ms, however, have the additional word “sword” (“they will die by the sword of men”). This is an easier reading (cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT), but that fact is not in favor of its originality.

[2:34]  ³¹ tn Heb “and this to you [is] the sign which will come to both of your sons.”

[2:35]  ³² tn Heb “house.”

[2:35]  ³³ tn Heb “and he will walk about before my anointed one all the days.”

[2:36]  ³³ tn Heb “a piece of silver” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[6:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “field.”

[6:1]  ³⁵ tc The LXX adds “and their land swarmed with mice.”

[6:3]  ³⁵ tc The LXX and a Qumran ms add “the covenant of the Lord.”

[6:5]  ³⁶ tn Heb “your mice.” A Qumran ms has simply “the mice.”

[6:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lighten his hand from upon you and from upon your gods and from upon your land.”

[6:6]  ³⁷ tn Heb “like Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their heart.”

[6:6]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and they sent them away and they went.”

[6:10]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and the men did so.”

[6:18]  ³⁹ tc A few Hebrew mss and the LXX read “villages; the large rock…[is witness] until this very day.”

[6:19]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:19]  ⁴¹ 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.

[6:20]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “he” or “it”; the referent here (the ark) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. also NIV, CEV, NLT). Others, however, take the referent to be the Lord himself.