Elkanah and His Wives

1There was a man of Armathaim Sipha, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Helkana, a son of Jeremeel the son of Elias the son of Thoke, in Nasib Ephraim. 2And he had two wives; the name of the one was Anna, and the name of the second Phennana. And Phennana had children, but Anna had no child.

3And the man went up from year to year from his city, from Armathaim, to worship and sacrifice to the Lord God of Sabaoth at Selom: and there were Heli and his two sons Ophni and Phinees, the priests of the Lord. 4And the day came, and Helkana sacrificed, and gave portions to his wife Phennana and her children. 5And to Anna he gave a prime portion, because she had no child, only Helkana loved Anna more than the other; but the Lord had closed her womb. 6For the Lord gave her no child in her affliction, and according to the despondency of her affliction; and she was dispirited on this account, that the Lord shut up her womb so as not to give her a child. 7So she did year by year, in going up to the house of the Lord; and she was dispirited, and wept, and did not eat. 8And Helkana her husband said to her, Anna: and she said to him, Here am I, my lord: and he said to her, What ails thee that thou weepest? and why dost thou not eat? and why does thy heart smite thee? am I not better to thee than ten children?

Hannah Prays for a Son

9And Anna rose up after they had eaten in Selom, and stood before the Lord: and Heli the priest was on a seat by the threshold of the temple of the Lord. 10And she was very much grieved in spirit, and prayed to the Lord, and wept abundantly. 11And she vowed a vow to the Lord, saying, O Lord God of Sabaoth, if thou welt indeed look upon the humiliation of thine handmaid, and remember me, and give to thine handmaid a man-child, then will I indeed dedicate him to thee till the day of his death; and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and no razor shall come upon his head.

12And it came to pass, while she was long praying before the Lord, that Heli the priest marked her mouth. 13And she was speaking in her heart, and her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: and Heli accounted her a drunken woman. 14And the servant of Heli said to her, How long wilt thou be drunken? take away thy wine from thee, and go out from the presence of the Lord. 15And Anna answered and said, Nay, my lord, I live in a hard day, and I have not drunk wine or strong drink, and I pour out my soul before the Lord. 16Count not thy handmaid for a pestilent woman, for by reason of the abundance of my importunity I have continued my prayer until now. 17And Heli answered and said to her, Go in peace: the God of Israel give thee all thy petition, which thou hast asked of him. 18And she said, Thine handmaid has found favour in thine eyes: and the woman went her way, and entered into her lodging, and ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was no more sad.

The Birth of Samuel

19And they rise early in the morning, and worship the Lord, and they go their way: and Helkana went into his house at Armathaim, and knew his wife Anna; and the Lord remembered her, and she conceived. 20And it came to pass when the time was come, that she brought forth a son, and called his name Samuel, and said, Because I asked him of the Lord God of Sabaoth.

21And the man Helkana and all his house went up to offer in Selom the yearly sacrifice, and his vows, and all the tithes of his land. 22But Anna did not go up with him, for she said to her husband, I will not go up until the child goes up, when I have weaned him, and he shall be presented before the Lord, and he shall abide there continually. 23And Helkana her husband said to her, Do that which is good in thine eyes, abide still until thou shalt have weaned him; but may the Lord establish that which comes out of thy mouth: and the woman tarried, and suckled her son until she had weaned him. 24And she went up with him to Selom with a calf of three years old, and loaves, and an ephah of fine flour, and a bottle of wine: and she entered into the house of the Lord in Selom, and the child with them. 25And they brought him before the Lord; and his father slew his offering which he offered from year to year to the Lord; and he brought near the child, and slew the calf; and Anna the mother of the child brought him to Heli. 26And she said, I pray thee, my lord, as thy soul liveth, I am the woman that stood in thy presence with thee while praying to the Lord. 27For this child I prayed; and the Lord has given me my request that I asked of him. 28And I lend him to the Lord all his days that he lives, a loan to the Lord: and she said,