Samuel & King Saul

and she said, "My lord, as sure as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here near you, praying to ADONAI.

I prayed for this child, and ADONAI has granted the request I asked of him.

Therefore, I too have loaned him to ADONAI - as long as he lives, he is on loan to ADONAI."And he prostrated himself there before ADONAI.

Then Hannah prayed; she said: "My heart exults in ADONAI! My dignity has been restored by ADONAI! I can gloat over my enemies, because of my joy at your saving me.

"No one is as holy as ADONAI, because there is none to compare with you, no rock like our God.

"Stop your proud boasting! Don't let arrogance come from your mouth! For ADONAI is a God of knowledge, and he appraises actions.

The bows of the mighty are broken, while the feeble are armed with strength.

The well-fed hire themselves for bread, while those who were hungry hunger no more. The barren woman has borne seven, while the mother of many wastes away.

"ADONAI kills and makes alive; he brings down to the grave, and he brings up.

ADONAI makes poor, and he makes rich; he humbles, and he exalts.

He raises the poor from the dust, lifts up the needy from the trash pile; he gives them a place with leaders and assigns them seats of honor. "For the earth's pillars belong to ADONAI; on them he has placed the world.

He will guard the steps of his faithful, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. For it is not by strength that a person prevails -

those who fight ADONAI will be shattered; he will thunder against them in heaven ADONAI will judge the ends of the earth. He will strengthen his king and enhance the power of his anointed."

Elkanah went home to Ramah, while the child began ministering to ADONAI under the direction of 'Eli the cohen.

'Eli's sons were scoundrels who had no regard for ADONAI.

The rule these cohanim followed in dealing with the people was that when anyone offered a sacrifice, the cohen's servant would come, while the meat was stewing, with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

He would stick it in the pan, kettle, caldron or pot; and the cohen would take for himself whatever the fork brought up. This is how they dealt with all the people of Isra'el who came there to Shiloh.

The cohen's servant would actually come before the fat had burned to smoke and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the cohen meat he can roast; because he doesn't want your meat stewed, but raw."

If the man answered, "First let the fat burn to smoke, then take as much as you want," he would say, "No, give it to me now, or I'll take it by force."

The sin of these young men was very serious in ADONAI's view, because they treated offerings made to ADONAI with contempt.

But Sh'mu'el ministered in the presence of ADONAI, wearing a linen ritual vest even though he was only a child.

Each year his mother would make him a little coat and bring it when she came up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

'Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, "May ADONAI give you children from this woman because of the boy you have loaned to ADONAI"; then they would go home.

So ADONAI took notice of Hannah, and she conceived and bore three more sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Sh'mu'el grew in the presence of ADONAI.

When 'Eli was very old, he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Isra'el, and that they were having sex with the women doing service at the door of the tent of meeting.