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Easy-to-Read Version

1 Samuel 1:11

She made a special promise to God and said, " Lord All-Powerful, you can see how sad I am. Remember me. Don't forget me. If you will give me a son, I will give him to you. He will be yours his whole life, and as a Nazirite, he will not drink wine or strong drink, and no one will ever cut his hair."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Barrenness;   Blessing;   Children;   Consecration;   Dedication;   Hannah;   Nazarite;   Prayer;   Samuel;   Vows;   Women;   Scofield Reference Index - Bible Prayers;   Thompson Chain Reference - Asceticism;   Covenants and Vows;   Hannah;   Names;   Nazarites;   Self-Indulgence-Self-Denial;   Titles and Names;   Vows;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Children;   Dedication;   Vows;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Nazarite;   Peninnah;   Vow;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Dedication;   Hannah;   Marriage;   Nazirite;   Vow;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Abstain, Abstinence;   Gods and Goddesses, Pagan;   Servant, Service;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prayer;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Nazarite;   Vows;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jephthah;   Nazarite;   Samson;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Hannah;   Maid, Maiden;   Mother;   Sabaoth;   Samuel;   Samuel, Books of;   Sex, Biblical Teaching on;   Tools;   Tribes of Israel, the;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Hair;   Nazirite;   Sacrifice and Offering;   Samuel, Books of;   Vows;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Firstborn;   Handmaid;   Judgment Damnation;   Magnificat;   Vows;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Elkanah ;   Handmaid, Handmaiden;   Hannah ;   Shiloh ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Hannah;   Jephtha;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Eli;   Nazarites;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Abi'asaph;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Consecration;   Jephthah;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Samuel the Prophet;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Child;   Handmaid;   Male;   Names, Proper;   Nazirite;   Prayer;   Razor;   Samuel, Books of;   Seed;   Vow;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Nazarite;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Making a vow, she pleaded, “Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.”
Hebrew Names Version
She vowed a vow, and said, the LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid a man-child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come on his head.
King James Version
And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
Lexham English Bible
She made a vow and said: "O Yahweh of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the misery of your female servant, and will remember me, and not forget your female servant, and will give to your female servant a male child then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor will never pass over his head."
English Standard Version
And she vowed a vow and said, "O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head."
New Century Version
She made a promise, saying, " Lord All-Powerful, see how sad I am. Remember me and don't forget me. If you will give me a son, I will give him back to you all his life, and no one will ever cut his hair with a razor."
New English Translation
She made a vow saying, "O Lord of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the suffering of your female servant, remembering me and not forgetting your servant, and give a male child to your servant, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life. His hair will never be cut."
Amplified Bible
She made a vow, saying, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction (suffering) of Your maidservant and remember, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life; a razor shall never touch his head."
New American Standard Bible
And she made a vow and said, "LORD of armies, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your bond-servant and remember me, and not forget Your bond-servant, but will give Your bond-servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Also she vowed a vowe, and sayd, O Lord of hostes, if thou wilt looke on the trouble of thine handmaide, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaide, but giue vnto thine handmaide a manchilde, then I will giue him vnto the Lord all the dayes of his life, and there shall no rasor come vpon his head.
Legacy Standard Bible
And she made a vow and said, "O Yahweh of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a seed amongst men, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head."
Contemporary English Version
" Lord All-Powerful, I am your servant, but I am so miserable! Please let me have a son. I will give him to you for as long as he lives, and his hair will never be cut."
Complete Jewish Bible
Then she took a vow; she said, " Adonai -Tzva'ot, if you will notice how humiliated your servant is, if you will remember me and not forget your servant but will give your servant a male child, then I will give him to Adonai for as long as he lives; and no razor will ever come on his head."
Darby Translation
And she vowed a vow, and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give unto thy handmaid a man child, then I will give him to Jehovah all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
George Lamsa Translation
And she made a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look upon the affliction of thy maidservant, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give to thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
Good News Translation
Hannah made a solemn promise: " Lord Almighty, look at me, your servant! See my trouble and remember me! Don't forget me! If you give me a son, I promise that I will dedicate him to you for his whole life and that he will never have his hair cut."
Literal Translation
And she vowed a vow, and said, O Jehovah of Hosts, if looking You will look upon the affliction of Your handmaid, and shall remember me, and not forget Your handmaid, and shall give to Your handmaid a seed of men, then I will give him to Jehovah all the days of his life; and a razor shall not go up on his head.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and vowed a vowe, and sayde: O LORDE Zebaoth, yf thou wilt loke vpon the aduersite of thy handmayden, and thynke vpon me, and not forget thy handmayden, and wilt geue thy handmayden a sonne, I wil geue him vnto the LORDE all his life longe, and there shal no rasoure come vpon his heade.
American Standard Version
And she vowed a vow, and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give unto thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto Jehovah all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
Bible in Basic English
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.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And vowed a vowe, and sayd: O Lord of hoastes, if thou wilt loke on the trouble of thyne handmayde and remembre me, and not forget thyne hand mayde, but geue vnto thyne handmayde a man childe, I will geue him vnto the Lorde all the dayes of his lyfe, and there shall no rasor come vpon his head.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And she vowed a vow, and said: 'O LORD of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Thy handmaid, but wilt give unto Thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.'
King James Version (1611)
And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hostes, if thou wilt indeed looke on the affliction of thine handmayd, and remember me, and not forget thine handmayd, but wilt giue vnto thine handmayd a man childe, then I will giue him vnto the Lord all the dayes of his life, and there shall no rasor come vpon his head.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And 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.
English Revised Version
And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
Berean Standard Bible
And she made a vow, pleading, "O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever come over his head."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and made a vow, and seide, Lord God of oostis, if thou biholdist, and seest the turment of thi seruauntesse, and hast mynde of me, and foryetis not thin handmayde, and yyuest to thi seruauntesse `a male kynde, Y schal yyue hym to the Lord in alle daies of his lijf, and a rasour schal not stie on his heed.
Young's Literal Translation
and voweth a vow, and saith, `Jehovah of Hosts, if Thou dost certainly look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and hast remembered me, and dost not forget Thy handmaid, and hast given to Thy handmaid seed of men -- then I have given him to Jehovah all days of his life, and a razor doth not go up upon his head.'
Update Bible Version
And she vowed a vow, and said, O Yahweh of hosts, if you will indeed look at the affliction of your slave, and remember me, and not forget your slave, but will give to your slave a man-child, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head.
Webster's Bible Translation
And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give to thy handmaid a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
World English Bible
She vowed a vow, and said, Yahweh of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget your handmaid, but will give to your handmaid a man-child, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come on his head.
New King James Version
Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."
New Living Translation
And she made this vow: "O Lord of Heaven's Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord , his hair will never be cut."
New Life Bible
Then she made a promise and said, "O Lord of All, be sure to look on the trouble of Your woman servant, and remember me. Do not forget Your woman servant, but give me a son. If You will, then I will give him to the Lord all his life. And no hair will ever be cut from his head."
New Revised Standard
She made this vow: "O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And she vowed a vow, and said - Yahweh of hosts! If thou wilt, look, upon the humiliation of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give unto thy handmaid a man-child, then will I give him unto Yahweh, all the days of his life, and no, razor, shall come upon his head.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And she made a vow, saying: O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt look down, and wilt be mindful of me, and not forget thy handmaid, and wilt give to thy servant a manchild: I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.
Revised Standard Version
And she vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy maidservant, and remember me, and not forget thy maidservant, but wilt give to thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
She made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head."

Contextual Overview

9 After eating and drinking, Hannah quietly got up and went to pray to the Lord. Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the door of the Lord 's Holy Building. 10 Hannah was so sad that she cried the whole time she was praying to the Lord . 11 She made a special promise to God and said, " Lord All-Powerful, you can see how sad I am. Remember me. Don't forget me. If you will give me a son, I will give him to you. He will be yours his whole life, and as a Nazirite, he will not drink wine or strong drink, and no one will ever cut his hair." 12 Hannah prayed to the Lord a long time. Eli was watching her mouth while she was praying. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart. Her lips were moving, but since she did not say the words out loud, Eli thought she was drunk. 14 He said to her, "You have had too much to drink. It is time to put away the wine." 15 Hannah answered, "Sir, I have not drunk any wine or beer. I am deeply troubled, and I was telling the Lord about all my problems. 16 Don't think I am a bad woman. I have been praying so long because I have so many troubles and am very sad." 17 Eli answered, "Go in peace. May the God of Israel give you what you asked for." 18 Hannah said, "May you be happy with me." Then she left and ate something. She was not sad anymore.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

vowed: Genesis 28:20, Numbers 21:2, Numbers 30:3-8, Judges 11:30, Ecclesiastes 5:4

look: Genesis 29:32, Exodus 4:31, 2 Samuel 16:12, Psalms 25:18

remember: 1 Samuel 1:19, Genesis 8:1, Genesis 30:22, Psalms 132:1, Psalms 132:2

a man child: Heb. seed of men

I will give: Samuel, as a descendent of Levi, was the Lord's property, from twenty-five years of age till fifty; but the vow here implies that he should be consecrated to the Lord from his infancy to his death, and that he should not only act as a Levite, but as a Nazarite.

there: Numbers 6:5, Judges 13:5

Reciprocal: Genesis 15:2 - childless Genesis 25:21 - entreated Exodus 2:25 - looked Leviticus 5:4 - to do evil Leviticus 27:2 - When Deuteronomy 23:23 - That which Judges 11:31 - shall surely Judges 11:39 - to his vow 1 Samuel 1:22 - and there 1 Samuel 1:27 - For this 2 Samuel 15:8 - thy servant Psalms 27:4 - dwell Psalms 56:12 - Thy Psalms 66:14 - when Psalms 119:132 - Look Proverbs 31:2 - the son of my vows Lamentations 1:9 - behold Matthew 2:23 - He shall Matthew 19:14 - Suffer Mark 10:14 - Suffer Luke 1:48 - regarded

Cross-References

Genesis 1:9
Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered together so that the dry land will appear." And it happened.
Genesis 1:13
There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the third day.
Genesis 1:14
Then God said, "Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs to show when special meetings begin and to show the days and years.
Genesis 1:16
So God made the two large lights. He made the larger light to rule during the day and the smaller light to rule during the night. He also made the stars.
Genesis 1:17
God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth.
Genesis 1:20
Then God said, "Let the water be filled with many living things, and let there be birds to fly in the air over the earth."
Genesis 1:29
God said, "I am giving you all the grain bearing plants and all the fruit trees. These trees make fruit with seeds in it. This grain and fruit will be your food.
Genesis 2:5
This was before there were plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields because the Lord God had not yet made it rain on the earth, and there was no one to care for the plants.
Genesis 2:9
Then the Lord God caused all the beautiful trees that were good for food to grow in the garden. In the middle of the garden, he put the tree of life and the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil.
Genesis 2:16
The Lord God gave him this command: "You may eat from any tree in the garden.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And she vowed a vow,.... Which might be confirmed by her husband; otherwise the vow of a woman, if disapproved of by her husband, was not valid, Numbers 30:8 and Elkanah might make the same vow his wife did, and so it stood; for as this was a vow of Nazariteship, it is a tradition of the Jews r, that a man may vow his son to be a Nazarite, but a woman may not; but as this instance contradicts the tradition, they endeavour to explain away this vow, as it may respect a Nazarite, as will be observed hereafter:

and said, O Lord of hosts; this is properly the first time this title was used by any that we know of; for though it is expressed in 1 Samuel 1:3 there it is used as the words of the writer of this history, and so long after this prayer was put up; 1 Samuel 1:3- :; and it is an observation in the Talmud s, that from the day God created the world, no man called him the Lord of hosts till Hannah came and called him so:

if thou wilt indeed look upon the affliction of thine handmaid the sorrow of heart she had, the reproach she met with, on account of her having no children:

and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid; which petitions are the same in other words, and are repeated to denote her vehemence and importunity in prayer, and may allude to usages among men, that will look upon a person in distress, and turn away and forget them, and never think of them more; which she deprecates may not be her case with God:

but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child; or, "a seed of men" t; a son in the midst of men, as the Targum; such as is desirable by men, as a male child for the most part is; though some Jewish writers interpret it of the seed of righteous, wise, and understanding men, such as be fit to serve the Lord, which seems to be a sense foreign to the text; a man child she asks, because no other could serve the Lord in the temple; and that she meant by this phrase such an one is clear, because she vowed that a razor should not come on its head, which is never said of females, as Kimchi observes:

then will I give him unto the Lord all the days of his life; to serve him, and minister unto him in the sanctuary; being born a Levite, it was incumbent on him to serve the Lord, and he had a right to his service; but then a common Levite did not enter on it until twenty five or thirty years of age, and was not always serving, but was dismissed from it at fifty Numbers 8:24; but the child she vows, if the Lord would give her such an one, should be trained up in his service from his infancy, and continue it all the days of his life; and was to be also a perpetual Nazarite, as Samson was, as follows:

and there shall no razor come upon his head; as was not to come upon a Nazarite, during his Nazariteship, Numbers 6:5 and as such a vow made by a woman contradicts the tradition of the Jews before mentioned, they give another sense of this clause; as the Targum, which paraphrases it,

"and the fear of man shall not be upon him;''

but about this there is a division u; but that Samuel was Nazarite, and a perpetual one, is the sense of their best interpreters.

r Misn. Sotah. c. 3. sect. 8. s T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 31. 2. t זרע אנשים "semen virorum", Montanus. u Misn. Nazir, c. 9. sect. 5.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

vows are characteristic of this particular age of the Judges. (Compare Judges 11:30; Jdg 21:5; 1 Samuel 14:24.) For the law of vows in the case of married women, see Numbers 30:6-16; and for the nature of the vow, see the marginal references.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 1:11. I will give him unto the Lord — Samuel, as a descendant of the house of Levi, was the Lord's property from twenty-five years of age till fifty; but the vow here implies that he should be consecrated to the Lord from his infancy to his death, and that he should not only act as a Levite, but as a Nazarite, on whose head no razor should pass.


 
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