1Sa 1, 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 16

David Anointed King

1 The Lord said to Samuel, ^aj“How long will you grieve over Saul, since ^akI have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^alFill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, ^amfor 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, ^an‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. ^aoAnd 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 ^apcame to meet him trembling and said, ^aq“Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^arConsecrate 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 ^asEliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, ^at“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, ^aubut the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called ^avAbinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made ^awShammah 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, ^ax“There remains yet the youngest, ^{▼▼Or smallest} but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, ^az“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 ^baruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ^bb“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took ^bcthe horn of oil ^bdand anointed him in the midst of his brothers. ^beAnd 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 ^bfNow the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, ^bgand 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 ^bhwho 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 ^biplay 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, ^bja man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, ^bkand the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, ^blwho is with the sheep.” 20 ^bmAnd 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 ^bnand 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 ^bowhenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre ^bpand played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.