Study Desk

Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel.

Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse.

Now there was a man from Ramathaim-zophim from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

Now this man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of armies in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the LORD there.

When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters;

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."

Then they got up early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned again to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.

Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow.

Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems best to you. Stay until you have weaned him; only may the LORD confirm His word." So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she weaned him.

"He watches over the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a person prevail.

"Those who contend with the LORD will be terrified; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed."

Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the boy continued to attend to the service of the LORD before Eli the priest.

And this was the custom of the priests with the people: when anyone was offering a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come while the meat was cooking, with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

And his mother would make for him a little robe and bring it up to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, "May the LORD give you children from this woman in place of the one she requested of the LORD." And they went to their own home.

Now Eli was very old; and he heard about everything that his sons were doing to all Israel, and that they slept with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

But it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now his eyesight had begun to be poor and he could not see well),

And Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

"On that day I will carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken in regard to his house, from beginning to end.

"For I have told him that I am going to judge his house forever for the wrongdoing that he knew, because his sons were bringing a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them.