I Samuel 1-5

I Samuel 1

¹And there is a certain man of Ramathaim-Zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name [is] Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, and Ephrathite,

²and he hath two wives, the name of the one [is] Hannah, and the name of the second Peninnah, and Peninnah hath children, and Hannah hath no children.

³And that man hath gone up out of his city from time to time, to bow himself, and to sacrifice, before Jehovah of Hosts, in Shiloh, and there [are] two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests to Jehovah.

⁴And the day cometh, and Elkanah sacrificeth, and he hath given to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions,

⁵and to Hannah he giveth a certain portion -- double, for he hath loved Hannah, and Jehovah hath shut her womb;

⁶and her adversity hath also provoked her greatly, so as to make her tremble, for Jehovah hath shut up her womb.

⁷And so he doth year by year, from the time of her going up into the house of Jehovah, so it provoketh her, and she weepeth, and doth not eat.

⁸And Elkanah her husband saith to her, ‘Hannah, why weepest thou? and why dost thou not eat? and why is thy heart afflicted? am I not better to thee than ten sons?'

⁹And Hannah riseth after eating in Shiloh, and after drinking, and Eli the priest is sitting on the throne by the side-post of the temple of Jehovah.

¹⁰And she is bitter in soul, and prayeth unto Jehovah, and weepeth greatly,

¹¹and voweth a vow, and saith, ‘Jehovah of Hosts, if Thou dost certainly look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and hast remembered me, and dost not forget Thy handmaid, and hast given to Thy handmaid seed of men -- then I have given him to Jehovah all days of his life, and a razor doth not go up upon his head.'

¹²And it hath been, when she multiplied praying before Jehovah, that Eli is watching her mouth,

¹³and Hannah, she is speaking to her heart, only her lips are moving, and her voice is not heard, and Eli reckoneth her to be drunken.

¹⁴And Eli saith unto her, ‘Until when are thou drunken? turn aside thy wine from thee.'

¹⁵And Hannah answereth and saith, ‘No, my lord, A woman sharply pained in spirit I [am], and wine and strong drink I have not drunk, and I pour out my soul before Jehovah;

¹⁶put not thy handmaid before a daughter of worthlessness, for from the abundance of my meditation, and of my provocation, I have spoken hitherto.'

¹⁷And Eli answereth and saith, ‘Go in peace, and the God of Israel doth give thy petition which thou hast asked of Him.'

¹⁸And she saith, ‘Let thy handmaid find grace in thine eyes;' and the woman goeth on her way, and eateth, and her countenance hath not been [sad] for it any more.

¹⁹And they rise early in the morning, and bow themselves before Jehovah, and turn back, and come in unto their house in Ramah, and Elkanah knoweth Hannah his wife, and Jehovah remembereth her;

²⁰and it cometh to pass, at the revolution of the days, that Hannah conceiveth, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Samuel, ‘for, from Jehovah I have asked him.'

²¹And the man Elkanah goeth up, and all his house, to sacrifice to Jehovah the sacrifice of the days, and his vow.

²²And Hannah hath not gone up, for she said to her husband, ‘Till the youth is weaned -- then I have brought him in, and he hath appeared before the face of Jehovah, and dwelt there -- unto the age.'

²³And Elkanah her husband saith to her, ‘Do that which is good in thine eyes; abide till thy weaning him; only, Jehovah establish His word;' and the woman abideth and suckleth her son till she hath weaned him,

²⁴and she causeth him to go up with her when she hath weaned him, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and she bringeth him into the house of Jehovah at Shiloh, and the youth [is but] a youth.

²⁵And they slaughter the bullock, and bring in the youth unto Eli,

²⁶and she saith, ‘O, my lord, thy soul liveth! my lord, I [am] the woman who stood with thee in this [place], to pray unto Jehovah;

²⁷for this youth I prayed, and Jehovah doth give to me my petition which I asked of Him;

²⁸and also I have caused him to be asked for Jehovah, all the days that he hath lived -- he is asked for Jehovah;' and he boweth himself there before Jehovah.

I Samuel 2

¹And Hannah prayeth, and saith: ‘My heart hath exulted in Jehovah, My horn hath been high in Jehovah, My mouth hath been large over mine enemies, For I have rejoiced in Thy salvation.

²There is none holy like Jehovah, For there is none save Thee, And there is no rock like our God.

³Ye multiply not -- ye speak haughtily -- The old saying goeth out from your mouth, For a God of knowledge [is] Jehovah, And by Him actions are weighed.

⁴Bows of the mighty are broken, And the stumbling have girded on strength.

⁵The satiated for bread hired themselves, And the hungry have ceased. While the barren hath borne seven, And she abounding with sons hath languished.

⁶Jehovah putteth to death, and keepeth alive, He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up.

⁷Jehovah dispossesseth, and He maketh rich, He maketh low, yea, He maketh high.

⁸He raiseth from the dust the poor, From a dunghill He lifteth up the needy, To cause [them] to sit with nobles, Yea, a throne of honour He doth cause them to inherit, For to Jehovah [are] the fixtures of earth, And He setteth on them the habitable world.

⁹The feet of His saints He keepeth, And the wicked in darkness are silent, For not by power doth man become mighty.

¹⁰Jehovah -- broken down are His adversaries, Against them in the heavens He thundereth: Jehovah judgeth the ends of earth, And giveth strength to His king, And exalteth the horn of His anointed.'

¹¹And Elkanah goeth to Ramath, unto his house, and the youth hath been serving Jehovah, [in] the presence of Eli the priest;

¹²and the sons of Eli [are] sons of worthlessness, they have not known Jehovah.

¹³And the custom of the priests with the people [is]: any man sacrificing a sacrifice -- then hath the servant of the priest come in when the flesh is boiling, and the hook of three teeth in his hand,

¹⁴and hath struck [it] into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the hook bringeth up doth the priest take for himself; thus they do to all Israel who are coming in, there, in Shiloh.

¹⁵Also before they make perfume with the fat -- then hath the priest's servant come in, and said to the man who is sacrificing, ‘Give flesh to roast for the priest, and he doth not take of thee flesh boiled, but raw;'

¹⁶and the man saith unto him, ‘Let them surely make a perfume (as to-day) with the fat, then take to thee as thy soul desireth;' and he hath said to him, ‘Surely now thou dost give; and if not -- I have taken by strength.'

¹⁷And the sin of the young men is very great [in] the presence of Jehovah, for the men have despised the offering of Jehovah.

¹⁸And Samuel is ministering [in] the presence of Jehovah, a youth girt [with] an ephod of linen;

¹⁹and a small upper coat doth his mother make to him, and she hath brought it up to him from time to time, in her coming up with her husband to sacrifice the sacrifice of the time.

²⁰And Eli blessed Elkanah, and his wife, and said, ‘Jehovah doth appoint for thee seed of this woman, for the petition which she asked for Jehovah;' and they have gone to their place.

²¹When Jehovah hath looked after Hannah, then she conceiveth and beareth three sons and two daughters; and the youth Samuel groweth up with Jehovah.

²²And Eli [is] very old, and hath heard all that his sons do to all Israel, and how that they lie with the women who are assembling [at] the opening of the tent of meeting,

²³and he saith to them, ‘Why do ye things like these? for I am hearing of your evil words from all the people -- these!

²⁴Nay, my sons; for the report which I am hearing is not good causing the people of Jehovah to transgress. --

²⁵If a man sin against a man, then hath God judged him; but if against Jehovah a man sin, who doth pray for him?' and they hearken not to the voice of their father, though Jehovah hath delighted to put them to death.

²⁶And the youth Samuel is going on and growing up, and [is] good both with Jehovah, and also with men.

²⁷And there cometh a man of God unto Eli, and saith unto him, ‘Thus said Jehovah, Was I really revealed unto the house of thy father in their being in Egypt, before Pharaoh's house,

²⁸even to choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to Me for a priest, to go up on Mine altar, to make a perfume, to bear an ephod before Me, and I give to the house of thy father all the fire-offerings of the sons of Israel?

²⁹Why do ye kick at My sacrifice, and at Mine offering which I commanded [in] My habitation, and dost honour thy sons above Me, to make yourselves fat from the first part of every offering of Israel, of My people?

³⁰‘Therefore -- the affirmation of Jehovah, God of Israel -- I certainly said, Thy house and the house of thy father, do walk up and down before Me to the age; and now -- the affirmation of Jehovah -- Far be it from Me! for he who is honouring Me, I honour, and those despising Me, are lightly esteemed.

³¹‘Lo, days [are] coming, and I have cut off thine arm, and the arm of the house of thy father, that an old man is not in thy house;

³²and thou hast beheld an adversary [in My] habitation, in all that He doth good with Israel, and there is not an old man in thy house all the days.

³³‘And the man I cut not off of thine from Mine altar, [is] to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy soul; and all the increase of thy house do die men;

³⁴and this [is] to thee the sign that cometh unto thy two sons, unto Hophni and Phinehas -- in one day they die both of them;

³⁵and I have raised up for Me a stedfast priest; as in My heart and in My soul he doth do; and I have built for him a stedfast house, and he hath walked up and down before Mine anointed all the days;

³⁶and it hath been, every one who is left in thy house doth come in to bow himself to him, for a wage of silver, and a cake of bread, and hath said, Admit me, I pray thee, unto one of the priest's offices, to eat a morsel of bread.'

I Samuel 3

¹And the youth Samuel is serving Jehovah before Eli, and the word of Jehovah hath been precious in those days -- there is no vision broken forth.

²And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Eli is lying down in his place, and his eyes have begun to be dim -- he is not able to see.

³And the lamp of God is not yet extinguished, and Samuel is lying down in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God [is],

⁴and Jehovah calleth unto Samuel, and he saith, ‘Here [am] I.'

⁵And he runneth unto Eli, and saith, ‘Here [am] I, for thou hast called for me;' and he saith, ‘I called not; turn back, lie down;' and he goeth and lieth down.

⁶And Jehovah addeth to call again Samuel, and Samuel riseth and goeth unto Eli, and saith, ‘Here [am] I, for thou hast called for me;' and he saith, ‘I have not called, my son, turn back, lie down.'

⁷And Samuel hath not yet known Jehovah, and the word of Jehovah is not yet revealed unto him.

⁸And Jehovah addeth to call Samuel the third time, and he riseth and goeth unto Eli, and saith, ‘Here [am] I, for thou hast called for me;' and Eli understandeth that Jehovah is calling to the youth.

⁹And Eli saith to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down, and it hath been, if He doth call unto thee, that thou hast said, Speak, Jehovah, for Thy servant is hearing;' and Samuel goeth and lieth down in his place.

¹⁰And Jehovah cometh, and stationeth Himself, and calleth as time by time, ‘Samuel, Samuel;' and Samuel saith, ‘Speak, for Thy servant if hearing.'

¹¹And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, ‘Lo, I am doing a thing in Israel, at which the two ears of every one hearing it do tingle.

¹²In that day I establish unto Eli all that I have spoken unto his house, beginning and completing;

¹³and I have declared to him that I am judging his house -- to the age, for the iniquity which he hath known, for his sons are making themselves vile, and he hath not restrained them,

¹⁴and therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli: the iniquity of the house of Eli is not atoned for, by sacrifice, and by offering -- unto the age.'

¹⁵And Samuel lieth till the morning, and openeth the doors of the house of Jehovah, and Samuel is afraid of declaring the vision unto Eli.

¹⁶And Eli calleth Samuel, and saith, ‘Samuel, my son;' and he saith, ‘Here [am] I.'

¹⁷And he saith, ‘What [is] the word which He hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me; so doth God do to thee, and so doth He add, if thou hidest from me a word of all the words that He hath spoken unto thee.'

¹⁸And Samuel declareth to him the whole of the words, and hath not hid from him; and he saith, ‘It [is] Jehovah; that which is good in His eyes He doth.'

¹⁹And Samuel groweth up, and Jehovah hath been with him, and hath not let fall any of his words to the earth;

²⁰and all Israel know, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, that Samuel is established for a prophet to Jehovah.

²¹And Jehovah addeth to appear in Shiloh, for Jehovah hath been revealed unto Samuel, in Shiloh, by the word of Jehovah.

I Samuel 4

¹And the word of Samuel is to all Israel, and Israel goeth out to meet the Philistines for battle, and they encamp by Eben-Ezer, and the Philistines have encamped in Aphek,

²and the Philistines set themselves in array to meet Israel, and the battle spreadeth itself, and Israel is smitten before the Philistines, and they smite among the ranks in the field about four thousand men.

³And the people cometh in unto the camp, and the elders of Israel say, ‘Why hath Jehovah smitten us to-day before the Philistines? we take unto us from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and it cometh into our midst, and He doth save us out of the hand of our enemies.'

⁴And the people sendeth to Shiloh, and they take up thence the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of Hosts, inhabiting the cherubs, and there [are] two sons of Eli, with the ark of the covenant of God, Hophni and Phinehas.

⁵And it cometh to pass, at the coming in of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto the camp, that all Israel shout -- a great shout -- and the earth is moved.

⁶And the Philistines hear the noise of the shouting, and say, ‘What [is] the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?' and they perceive that the ark of Jehovah hath come in unto the camp.

⁷And the Philistines are afraid, for they said, ‘God hath come in unto the camp;' and they say, ‘Wo to us, for there hath not been like this heretofore.

⁸Wo to us, who doth deliver us out of the hand of these honourable gods? these [are] the gods who are smiting the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness.

⁹Strengthen yourselves, and become men, O Philistines, lest ye do service to Hebrews, as they have done to you -- then ye have become men, and have fought.'

¹⁰And the Philistines fight, and Israel is smitten, and they flee each to his tents, and the blow is very great, and there fall of Israel thirty thousand footmen;

¹¹and the ark of God hath been taken, and the two sons of Eli have died, Hophni and Phinehas.

¹²And a man of Benjamin runneth out of the ranks, and cometh into Shiloh, on that day, and his long robes [are] rent, and earth on his head;

¹³and he cometh in, and lo, Eli is sitting on the throne by the side of the way, watching, for his heart hath been trembling for the ark of God, and the man hath come in to declare [it] in the city, and all the city crieth out.

¹⁴And Eli heareth the noise of the cry, and saith, ‘What -- the noise of this tumult!' And the man hasted, and cometh in, and declareth to Eli.

¹⁵And Eli is a son of ninety and eight years, and his eyes have stood, and he hath not been able to see.

¹⁶And the man saith unto Eli, ‘I [am] he who hath come out of the ranks, and I out of the ranks have fled to-day;' and he saith, ‘What hath been the matter, my son?'

¹⁷And he who is bearing tidings answereth and saith, ‘Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and also a great slaughter hath been among the people, and also thy two sons have died -- Hophni and Phinehas -- and the ark of God hath been captured.'

¹⁸And it cometh to pass, at his mentioning the ark of God, that he falleth from off the throne backward, by the side of the gate, and his neck is broken, and he dieth, for the man [is] old and heavy, and he hath judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹And his daughter-in-law, wife of Phinehas, [is] pregnant, about to bear, and she heareth the report of the taking of the ark of God, that her father-in-law and her husband have died, and she boweth, and beareth, for her pains have turned upon her.

²⁰And at the time of her death, when the women who are standing by her say, ‘Fear not, for a son thou hast borne,' she hath not answered, nor set her heart [to it];

²¹and she calleth the youth I-Chabod, saying, ‘Honour hath removed from Israel,' because of the taking of the ark of God, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

²²And she saith, ‘Honour hath removed from Israel, for the ark of God hath been taken.'

I Samuel 5

¹And the Philistines have taken the ark of God, and bring it in from Eben-Ezer to Ashdod,

²and the Philistines take the ark of God and bring it into the house of Dagon, and set it near Dagon.

³And the Ashdodites rise early on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah; and they take Dagon, and put it back to its place.

⁴And they rise early in the morning on the morrow, and lo, Dagon is fallen on its face to the earth, before the ark of Jehovah, and the head of Dagon, and the two palms of its hands are cut off at the threshold, only the fishy part hath been left to him;

⁵therefore the priests of Dagon, and all those coming into the house of Dagon, tread not on the threshold of Dagon, in Ashdod, till this day.

⁶And the hand of Jehovah is heavy on the Ashdodites, and He maketh them desolate, and smiteth them with emerods, Ashdod and its borders.

⁷And the men of Ashdod see that [it is] so, and have said, ‘The ark of the God of Israel doth not abide with us, for hard hath been His hand upon us, and upon Dagon our god.'

⁸And they send and gather all the princes of the Philistines unto them, and say, ‘What do we do to the ark of the God of Israel?' and they say, ‘To Gath let the ark of the God of Israel be brought round;' and they bring round the ark of the God of Israel;

⁹and it cometh to pass after they have brought it round, that the hand of Jehovah is against the city -- a very great destruction; and He smiteth the men of the city, from small even unto great; and break forth on them do emerods.

¹⁰And they send the ark of God to Ekron, and it cometh to pass, at the coming in of the ark of God to Ekron, that the Ekronites cry out, saying, ‘They have brought round unto us the ark of the God of Israel, to put us to death -- and our people.'

¹¹And they send and gather all the princes of the Philistines, and say, ‘Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and it turneth back to its place, and it doth not put us to death -- and our people;' for there hath been a deadly destruction throughout all the city, very heavy hath the hand of God been there,

¹²and the men who have not died have been smitten with emerods, and the cry of the city goeth up into the heavens.