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.¹ 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? ^hAm 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 ⁱthe temple of the Lord. 10 She was ^jdeeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she ^kvowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed ^llook on the affliction of your servant and ^mremember 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, ⁿand 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 ^oI have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as ^pa worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, ^q“Go in peace, and the God of Israel ^rgrant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, ^s“Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman ^twent 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 ^uRamah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord ^vremembered 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.”²

Samuel Given to the Lord

21 The man Elkanah and all his house ^wwent 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 ^xand dwell there forever.” 23 ^yElkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; ^zonly, 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, ^ashe took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,³ an ephah⁴ of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to ^bthe 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! ^cAs 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, ^dand 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.”

^eAnd he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

1 And Hannah prayed and said,

11 Then Elkanah went home ^yto Ramah. ^zAnd the boy⁵ was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

Eli’s Worthless Sons

12 Now the sons of Eli were ^aworthless men. ^bThey 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, ^cbefore 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 ^din the sight of the Lord, ^efor the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

18 ^fSamuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy ^gclothed with a linen ephod. 19 And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year ^hwhen 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 ⁱfor the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.

21 ^jIndeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. ^kAnd 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 ^lwere 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, ^mfor it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

26 Now the boy Samuel ⁿcontinued 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 ^oa man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ^p‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? 28 ^qDid I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, ^rto wear an ephod before me? ^sI gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. 29 Why then do you ^tscorn⁶ 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: ^v‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ ^wbut 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, ^xthe 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 ^yin distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, ^zand 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 his⁷ eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants⁸ of your house shall die by the sword of men.⁹ 34 ^aAnd this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die ^bon the same day. 35 ^cAnd I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. ^dAnd I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before ^emy 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.”’”

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

Spiritual Gifts

1 Now ^mconcerning¹ spiritual gifts,² brothers,³ I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that ⁿwhen you were pagans ^oyou were led astray to ^pmute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that ^qno one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is ^raccursed!” and ^sno one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

4 Now ^tthere are varieties of gifts, but ^uthe same Spirit; 5 and ^vthere are varieties of service, but ^uthe same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is ^uthe same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 ^wTo each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of ^xwisdom, and to another the utterance of ^yknowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another ^zfaith by the same Spirit, to another ^agifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another ^bthe working of miracles, to another ^cprophecy, to another ^dthe ability to distinguish between spirits, to another ^evarious kinds of tongues, to another ^fthe interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, ^gwho apportions to each one individually ^has he wills.

One Body with Many Members

12 For just as ⁱthe body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, ^jso it is with Christ. 13 For ^kin one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—^lJews or Greeks, slaves⁴ or free—and ^mall were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, ⁿGod arranged the members in the body, each one of them, ^oas he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,⁵ yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, ^pall rejoice together.

27 Now ^qyou are the body of Christ and individually ^rmembers of it. 28 And ^sGod has appointed in the church first ^tapostles, second ^uprophets, third teachers, then ^vmiracles, then ^wgifts of healing, ^xhelping, ^yadministrating, and ^vvarious kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But ^zearnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

The Way of Love

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have ^aprophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, ^bso as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 ^cIf I give away all I have, and ^dif I deliver up my body to be burned,⁶ but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 ^eLove is patient and ^fkind; love ^gdoes not envy or boast; it ^his not arrogant 5 or rude. It ⁱdoes not insist on its own way; it ^jis not irritable or resentful;⁷ 6 it ^kdoes not rejoice at wrongdoing, but ^lrejoices with the truth. 7 ^mLove bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, ^eendures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For ⁿwe know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but ^owhen the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For ^pnow we see in a mirror dimly, but ^qthen face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as ^rI have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.