1Sa 1, 1Sa 13, 1Sa 16 | ESV | STEP | There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham , son of Elihu , son of Tohu , son of Zuph , an Ephrathite .

1 There was a certain man of ^aRamathaim-zophim of ^bthe hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, ^can Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 Now this man used to go up ^dyear by year from his city ^eto worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts ^fat Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, ^ghe would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. ^{▼▼Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. Septuagint And, although he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion, because the Lord had closed her womb} 6 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? ⁱAm I not more to you than ten sons?”

9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of ^jthe temple of the Lord. 10 She was ^kdeeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she ^lvowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed ^mlook on the affliction of your servant and ⁿremember 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, ^oand no razor shall touch his head.”

12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but ^pI have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as ^qa worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, ^r“Go in peace, and the God of Israel ^sgrant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, ^t“Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman ^uwent her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at ^vRamah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord ^wremembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.” ^{▼▼ Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard of God}

Samuel Given to the Lord

21 The man Elkanah and all his house ^ywent up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord ^zand dwell there forever.” 23 ^aaElkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; ^abonly, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, ^acshe took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text three bulls} an ephah ^{▼▼An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters} of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to ^afthe house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! ^agAs you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, ^ahand the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”

^aiAnd he worshiped the Lord there.

1 Samuel 13

Saul Fights the Philistines

1 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, ^{▼▼Hebrew Saul was one year old when he became king, and he reigned two years over Israel (see 1 Samuel 10:6); some Greek manuscripts give Saul’s age when he began to reign as thirty years} 2 Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in ^akMichmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in ^alGibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. 3 Jonathan defeated ^amthe garrison of the Philistines that was ^anat Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul ^aoblew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4 And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

5 And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops ^aplike the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of ^aqBeth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves ^arin caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, 7 and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

8 ^asHe waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, ^at“You have done foolishly. ^auYou have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now ^avyour kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man ^awafter his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince ^{▼▼Or leader} over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks The rest of the people . . . from Gilgal} to ^azGibeah of Benjamin.

And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, ^baabout six hundred men. 16 And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in ^bbGeba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And ^bcraiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; 18 another company turned toward ^bdBeth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of ^beZeboim toward the wilderness.

19 ^bfNow there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” 20 But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew plowshare} 21 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel ^{▼▼Hebrew was a pim} for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain} 22 So on the day of the battle ^bkthere was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. 23 And ^blthe garrison of the Philistines went out to the ^bmpass of ^bnMichmash.

1 Samuel 16

David Anointed King

1 The Lord said to Samuel, ^bo“How long will you grieve over Saul, since ^bpI have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^bqFill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, ^brfor I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ^bs‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. ^btAnd you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city ^bucame to meet him trembling and said, ^bv“Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^bwConsecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they came, he looked on ^bxEliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, ^by“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, ^bzbut the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called ^caAbinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made ^cbShammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, ^cc“There remains yet the youngest, ^{▼▼Or smallest} but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, ^ce“Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ^cfruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ^cg“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took ^chthe horn of oil ^ciand anointed him in the midst of his brothers. ^cjAnd the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

David in Saul’s Service

14 ^ckNow the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, ^cland a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants ^cmwho are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will ^cnplay it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, ^coa man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, ^cpand the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, ^cqwho is with the sheep.” 20 ^crAnd Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul ^csand entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And ^ctwhenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre ^cuand played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.