1 Samuel 2:21

THE MESSAGE

God was most especially kind to Hannah. She had three more sons and two daughters! The boy Samuel stayed at the sanctuary and grew up with God .

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The Lord paid attention to Hannah’s need, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

Hebrew Names Version
The LORD visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. The child Shemu'el grew before the LORD.

King James Version
And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord .

Lexham English Bible
Yahweh took note of Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters, while the young man Samuel grew up with Yahweh.

English Standard Version
Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord .

New Century Version
The Lord was kind to Hannah, so she became the mother of three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up serving the Lord .

New English Translation
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.

Amplified Bible
And [the time came when] the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the LORD.

New American Standard Bible
The LORD indeed visited Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up before the LORD.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Lorde visited Hannah, so that she conceiued, & bare three sonnes, & two daughters. And the childe Samuel grewe before the Lord.

Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh indeed visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the young boy Samuel grew before Yahweh.

Contemporary English Version
The Lord was kind to Hannah, and she had three more sons and two daughters. But Samuel grew up at the Lord 's house in Shiloh.

Complete Jewish Bible
So Adonai took notice of Hannah, and she conceived and bore three more sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Sh'mu'el grew in the presence of Adonai .

Darby Translation
So Jehovah visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before Jehovah.

Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord was kind to Hannah, and she had three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the holy place near the Lord .

George Lamsa Translation
And the LORD blessed Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the LORD.

Good News Translation
The Lord did bless Hannah, and she had three more sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up in the service of the Lord .

Literal Translation
So Jehovah visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up with Jehovah.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the LORDE vysited Anna, so that she coceaued and bare thre sonnes and two doughters: but the childe Samuel grewe vp with the LORDE.

American Standard Version
And Jehovah visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before Jehovah.

Bible in Basic English
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.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the Lorde visited Hanna, so that she conceaued, and bare three sonnes, & two daughters: And the childe Samuel grew before the Lorde.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
So the LORD remembered Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

King James Version (1611)
And the Lord visited Hannah, so that shee conceiued, and bare three sonnes, and two daughters: and the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the Lord visited Anna, and she bore yet three sons, and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

English Revised Version
And the LORD visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible
So the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor the Lord visitide Anna, and sche conseyuede, and childide thre sones and twei douytris. And the child Samuel was `magnyfied at the Lord.

Young's Literal Translation
When Jehovah hath looked after Hannah, then she conceiveth and beareth three sons and two daughters; and the youth Samuel groweth up with Jehovah.

Update Bible Version
And Yahweh visited Hannah, and she became pregnant, and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the lad Samuel grew before Yahweh.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

World English Bible
Yahweh visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. The child Samuel grew before Yahweh.

New King James Version
And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

New Living Translation
And the Lord blessed Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord .

New Life Bible
And the Lord visited Hannah. She gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up to serve the Lord.

New Revised Standard
And the Lord took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord .

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Yahweh visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bare three sons, and two daughters. Thus did the boy Samuel grow up with Yahweh.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord visited Anna, and she conceived, and bore three sons, and two daughters: and the child Samuel became great before the Lord.

Revised Standard Version
And the LORD visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the LORD.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The LORD visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the LORD.

Contextual Overview

¹¹ Elkanah went home to Ramah. The boy stayed and served God in the company of Eli the priest. ¹²Eli's own sons were a bad lot. They didn't know God and could not have cared less about the customs of priests among the people. Ordinarily, when someone offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant was supposed to come up and, while the meat was boiling, stab a three-pronged fork into the cooking pot. The priest then got whatever came up on the fork. But this is how Eli's sons treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices to God . Before they had even burned the fat to God , the priest's servant would interrupt whoever was sacrificing and say, "Hand over some of that meat for the priest to roast. He doesn't like boiled meat; he likes his rare." If the man objected, "First let the fat be burned—God's portion!—then take all you want," the servant would demand, "No, I want it now. If you won't give it, I'll take it." It was a horrible sin these young servants were committing—and right in the presence of God !—desecrating the holy offerings to God . ¹⁸In the midst of all this, Samuel, a boy dressed in a priestly linen tunic, served God . Additionally, every year his mother would make him a little robe cut to his size and bring it to him when she and her husband came for the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, " God give you children to replace this child you have dedicated to God ." Then they would go home. ²¹ God was most especially kind to Hannah. She had three more sons and two daughters! The boy Samuel stayed at the sanctuary and grew up with God . ²²By this time Eli was very old. He kept getting reports on how his sons were ripping off the people and sleeping with the women who helped out at the sanctuary. Eli took them to task: "What's going on here? Why are you doing these things? I hear story after story of your corrupt and evil carrying on. Oh, my sons, this is not right! These are terrible reports I'm getting, stories spreading right and left among God 's people! If you sin against another person, there's help—God's help. But if you sin against God , who is around to help?" But they were far gone in disobedience and refused to listen to a thing their father said. So God , who was fed up with them, decreed their death. But the boy Samuel was very much alive, growing up, blessed by God and popular with the people. A holy man came to Eli and said: "This is God 's message: I revealed myself openly to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. Out of all the tribes of Israel, I chose your family to be my priests: to preside at the Altar, to burn incense, to wear the priestly robes in my presence. I put your ancestral family in charge of all the sacrificial offerings of Israel. So why do you now treat as mere loot these very sacrificial offerings that I commanded for my worship? Why do you treat your sons better than me, turning them loose to get fat on these offerings, and ignoring me? Therefore—this is God 's word, the God of Israel speaking—I once said that you and your ancestral family would be my priests indefinitely, but now— God 's word, remember!—there is no way this can continue. I honor those who honor me; those who scorn me I demean. "Be well warned: It won't be long before I wipe out both your family and your future family. No one in your family will make it to old age! You'll see good things that I'm doing in Israel, but you'll see it and weep, for no one in your family will live to enjoy it. I will leave one person to serve at my Altar, but it will be a hard life, with many tears. Everyone else in your family will die before their time. What happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be the proof: Both will die the same day. Then I'll establish for myself a true priest. He'll do what I want him to do, be what I want him to be. I'll make his position secure and he'll do his work freely in the service of my anointed one. Survivors from your family will come to him begging for handouts, saying, ‘Please, give me some priest work, just enough to put some food on the table.'" ²⁶ Hannah prayed: I'm bursting with God -news! I'm walking on air. I'm laughing at my rivals. I'm dancing my salvation. Nothing and no one is holy like God , no rock mountain like our God. Don't dare talk pretentiously— not a word of boasting, ever! For God knows what's going on. He takes the measure of everything that happens. The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength. The well-fed are out begging in the streets for crusts, while the hungry are getting second helpings. The barren woman has a houseful of children, while the mother of many is bereft. God brings death and God brings life, brings down to the grave and raises up. God brings poverty and God brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up. He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives— a place in the sun! For the very structures of earth are God 's; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation. He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step, but leaves the wicked to stumble in the dark. No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle! God 's enemies will be blasted out of the sky, crashed in a heap and burned. God will set things right all over the earth, he'll give strength to his king, he'll set his anointed on top of the world! Elkanah went home to Ramah. The boy stayed and served God in the company of Eli the priest. Eli's own sons were a bad lot. They didn't know God and could not have cared less about the customs of priests among the people. Ordinarily, when someone offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant was supposed to come up and, while the meat was boiling, stab a three-pronged fork into the cooking pot. The priest then got whatever came up on the fork. But this is how Eli's sons treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices to God . Before they had even burned the fat to God , the priest's servant would interrupt whoever was sacrificing and say, "Hand over some of that meat for the priest to roast. He doesn't like boiled meat; he likes his rare." If the man objected, "First let the fat be burned—God's portion!—then take all you want," the servant would demand, "No, I want it now. If you won't give it, I'll take it." It was a horrible sin these young servants were committing—and right in the presence of God !—desecrating the holy offerings to God . In the midst of all this, Samuel, a boy dressed in a priestly linen tunic, served God . Additionally, every year his mother would make him a little robe cut to his size and bring it to him when she and her husband came for the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, " God give you children to replace this child you have dedicated to God ." Then they would go home. God was most especially kind to Hannah. She had three more sons and two daughters! The boy Samuel stayed at the sanctuary and grew up with God . By this time Eli was very old. He kept getting reports on how his sons were ripping off the people and sleeping with the women who helped out at the sanctuary. Eli took them to task: "What's going on here? Why are you doing these things? I hear story after story of your corrupt and evil carrying on. Oh, my sons, this is not right! These are terrible reports I'm getting, stories spreading right and left among God 's people! If you sin against another person, there's help—God's help. But if you sin against God , who is around to help?" But they were far gone in disobedience and refused to listen to a thing their father said. So God , who was fed up with them, decreed their death. But the boy Samuel was very much alive, growing up, blessed by God and popular with the people.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

visited: 1 Samuel 1:19, 1 Samuel 1:20, Genesis 21:1, Luke 1:68

grew: 1 Samuel 2:26, 1 Samuel 3:19, Judges 13:24, Luke 1:80, Luke 2:40, Luke 2:52

Reciprocal: Genesis 29:31 - he opened Genesis 48:9 - my sons Ruth 1:6 - visited 1 Samuel 2:20 - General Psalms 107:41 - maketh Psalms 127:3 - children Ecclesiastes 6:3 - a man Luke 1:13 - thy prayer Luke 1:25 - hath

Cross-References

1 Samuel 26:12
David took the spear and water jug that were right beside Saul's head, and they slipped away. Not a soul saw. Not a soul knew. No one woke up! They all slept through the whole thing. A blanket of deep sleep from God had fallen on them.

Job 33:15
"In a dream, for instance, a vision at night, when men and women are deep in sleep, fast asleep in their beds— God opens their ears and impresses them with warnings To turn them back from something bad they're planning, from some reckless choice, And keep them from an early grave, from the river of no return.

Proverbs 19:15
Life collapses on loafers; lazybones go hungry.

Daniel 8:18
A Vision of a Ram and a Billy Goat "In King Belshazzar's third year as king, another vision came to me, Daniel. This was now the second vision. "In the vision, I saw myself in Susa, the capital city of the province Elam, standing at the Ulai Canal. Looking around, I was surprised to see a ram also standing at the gate. The ram had two huge horns, one bigger than the other, but the bigger horn was the last to appear. I watched as the ram charged: first west, then north, then south. No beast could stand up to him. He did just as he pleased, strutting as if he were king of the beasts. "While I was watching this, wondering what it all meant, I saw a billy goat with an immense horn in the middle of its forehead come up out of the west and fly across the whole country, not once touching the ground. The billy goat approached the double-horned ram that I had earlier seen standing at the gate and, enraged, charged it viciously. I watched as, mad with rage, it charged the ram and hit it so hard that it broke off its two horns. The ram didn't stand a chance against it. The billy goat knocked the ram to the ground and stomped all over it. Nothing could have saved the ram from the goat. "Then the billy goat swelled to an enormous size. At the height of its power its immense horn broke off and four other big horns sprouted in its place, pointing to the four points of the compass. And then from one of these big horns another horn sprouted. It started small, but then grew to an enormous size, facing south and east—toward lovely Palestine. The horn grew tall, reaching to the stars, the heavenly army, and threw some of the stars to the earth and stomped on them. It even dared to challenge the power of God, Prince of the Celestial Army! And then it threw out daily worship and desecrated the Sanctuary. As judgment against their sin, the holy people of God got the same treatment as the daily worship. The horn cast God's Truth aside. High-handed, it took over everything and everyone. "Then I overheard two holy angels talking. One asked, ‘How long is what we see here going to last—the abolishing of daily worship, this devastating judgment against sin, the kicking around of God's holy people and the Sanctuary?' "The other answered, ‘Over the course of 2,300 sacrifices, evening and morning. Then the Sanctuary will be set right again.' "While I, Daniel, was trying to make sense of what I was seeing, suddenly there was a humanlike figure standing before me. "Then I heard a man's voice from over by the Ulai Canal calling out, ‘Gabriel, tell this man what is going on. Explain the vision to him.' He came up to me, but when he got close I became terrified and fell facedown on the ground. "He said, ‘Understand that this vision has to do with the time of the end.' As soon as he spoke, I fainted, my face in the dirt. But he picked me up and put me on my feet.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord visited Hannah,.... In a way of mercy, approving and confirming the blessing of Eli; or rather granting the blessing he prayed for, by giving her power to conceive, bear, and bring forth children, as the following words explain it:

so that she conceived and bare three sons and two daughters; whereby the prophecy of Hannah was fulfilled, 1 Samuel 2:5, and was no doubt matter of great joy to her, though of these children we nowhere else read, nor even of their names. Josephus s says, Elkanah had other sons by Hannah, and three daughters; which agrees not with the text:

and the child Samuel grew before the Lord: in age and stature, in grace and goodness, and improved much in the worship and service of God, both in the theory and practice of it; or became great with him, high in his esteem and favour, and was blessed with much of his presence, and with large gifts of his grace.

s Antiqu. l. 5. c. 10. sect. 3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the marginal references. The words “before the” Lord have special reference to his residence at the tabernacle.