1Sa 2, 1Sa 9 | ESV | STEP | And Hannah prayed and said , My heart exults in the Lord ; my horn is exalted in the Lord . My mouth derides my enemies , because I rejoice in your salvation .

1 Samuel 2

Hannah’s Prayer

1 And Hannah prayed and said,

^a“My heart exults in the Lord;
^bmy horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because ^cI rejoice in your salvation.
2 ^d“There is none holy like the Lord:
for there is none besides you;
there is ^eno rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4 ^fThe bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble bind on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
^gThe barren has borne seven,
^hbut she who has many children is forlorn.
6 ⁱThe Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 ^jThe Lord makes poor and makes rich;
^khe brings low and he exalts.
8 ^lHe raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap
^mto make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
ⁿFor the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and on them he has set the world.
9 ^o“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 ^pThe adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
^qagainst them he will thunder in heaven.
^rThe Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king
^sand exalt the horn of his anointed.”
11 Then Elkanah went home ^tto Ramah. ^uAnd the boy ^{▼▼Hebrew na‘ar can be rendered boy (2:11, 18, 21, 26; 3:1, 8), servant (2:13, 15), or young man (2:17), depending on the context} was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

Eli’s Worthless Sons

12 Now the sons of Eli were ^wworthless men. ^xThey did not know the Lord. 13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14 and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15 Moreover, ^ybefore the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” 16 And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” 17 Thus the sin of the young men was very great ^zin the sight of the Lord, ^aafor the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

18 ^abSamuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy ^acclothed with a linen ephod. 19 And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year ^adwhen she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman ^aefor the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.

21 ^afIndeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. ^agAnd the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

22 Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who ^ahwere serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24 No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. 25 If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, ^aifor it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

26 Now the boy Samuel ^ajcontinued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.

The Lord Rejects Eli’s Household

27 And there came ^aka man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ^al‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? 28 ^amDid I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, ^anto wear an ephod before me? ^aoI gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. 29 Why then do you ^apscorn ^{▼▼Hebrew kick at} my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ 30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ^ar‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ ^asbut now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, ^atthe days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 Then ^auin distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, ^avand there shall not be an old man in your house forever. 33 The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew your; twice in this verse} eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants ^{▼▼Hebrew increase} of your house shall die by the sword of men. ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew die as men} 34 ^azAnd this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die ^baon the same day. 35 ^bbAnd I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. ^bcAnd I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before ^bdmy anointed forever. 36 And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests’ places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”

1 Samuel 9

Saul Chosen to Be King

1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^beKish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. 2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, ^bfa handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. ^bgFrom his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 And he passed through ^bhthe hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of ^biShalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant ^{▼▼Hebrew young man; also verses 7, 8, 10, 27} who was with him, “Come, let us go back, ^bklest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” 6 But he said to him, “Behold, there is ^bla man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; ^bmall that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, ^bnwhat can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man ^bpwent to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) 10 And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

11 As they went up the hill to the city, ^bqthey met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people ^brhave a sacrifice today on ^bsthe high place. 13 As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

15 Now the day before Saul came, ^btthe Lord had ^burevealed to Samuel: 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, ^bvand you shall anoint him to be prince ^{▼▼Or leader} over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. ^bxFor I have seen ^{▼▼Septuagint adds the affliction of} my people, because their cry has come to me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, ^bz“Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” 19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. 20 ^caAs for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?” 21 Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, ^cbfrom the least of the tribes of Israel? ^ccAnd is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

22 Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” 24 So the cook took up ^cdthe leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.” ^{▼▼Hebrew appointed, saying, ‘I have invited the people’}

So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew and he spoke with Saul} ^cgon the roof, and he lay down to sleep. 26 Then at the break of dawn ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew And they arose early and at the break of dawn} Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”