1Sa 1, 1Sa 15 | 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 Samuel 1

The Birth of Samuel

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 15

The Lord Rejects Saul

1 And Samuel said to Saul, ^aj“The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel ^akin opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and ^aldevote to destruction ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20, 21} all that they have. Do not spare them, ^anbut kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to ^aothe Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. ^apFor you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 ^aqAnd Saul defeated the Amalekites from ^arHavilah as far as ^asShur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive ^atand devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 ^auBut Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew term is uncertain} and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 ^aw“I regret ^{▼▼See also verses 29, 35} that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and ^ayhas not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to ^azCarmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, ^ba“Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, ^bbfor the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

17 And Samuel said, ^bc“Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? ^bdWhy did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, ^be“I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 ^bfBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,

^bg“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, ^bhto obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and ^biidolatry.
Because ^bjyou have rejected the word of the Lord,
^bkhe has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Saul said to Samuel, ^bl“I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and ^bmreturn with me that I may bow before the Lord.” 26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. ^bnFor you have rejected the word of the Lord, ^boand the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 ^bpAs Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, ^bq“The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Glory of Israel ^brwill not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet ^bshonor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, ^btand return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. ^{▼▼Or haltingly (compare Septuagint); the Hebrew is uncertain} Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, ^bv“As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord ^bwin Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went ^bxto Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in ^byGibeah of Saul. 35 ^bzAnd Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, ^cabut Samuel grieved over Saul. ^cbAnd the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.