1 Samuel 1
The full text of 1 Samuel 1 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
3 Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the LORD Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the LORD.
4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.
5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the LORD had closed her womb.
6 Because the LORD had closed Hannah's womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.
7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.
8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?"
9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the LORD's house.
10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly.
11 And she made a vow, saying, "LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."
12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth.
13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk
14 and said to her, "How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine."
15 "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied. "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD.
16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
18 She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.
19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.
20 So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."
21 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow,
22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always."
23 "Do what seems best to you," her husband Elkanah told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.
25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli,
26 and she said to him, "Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.
27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.
28 So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.
Translation notes (8)
- 1 Samuel 1:2a The name "Hannah" means "grace" or "favor." The theme of a barren wife opens this book, just as it does in the stories of the patriarchs (Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel); the childless Hannah will bear the prophet who anoints Israel's kings.
- 1 Samuel 1:3a The phrase "The LORD Almighty" translates YHWH Tseva'oth, which means "the LORD of hosts/armies"; this is the first time this title appears in Scripture. Hophni and Phinehas are introduced here; their corruption (chapter 2) provides a dark backdrop to Samuel's rise.
- 1 Samuel 1:5a The phrase "A double portion" translates a difficult Hebrew phrase; some interpreters understand it as "one portion, with sadness" or "a worthy portion." The exact meaning is uncertain and is not determined here. The statement "The LORD had closed her womb" attributes Hannah's barrenness to God, as the text presents it.
- 1 Samuel 1:11a Hannah's vow dedicates the child as a lifelong Nazirite, meaning "no razor on his head" (compare Numbers 6; Judges 13:5). She gives back to the LORD the very gift she begged for, serving as the book's first example of the faithful surrender that will be traced through Samuel.
- 1 Samuel 1:19a The phrase "The LORD remembered her" echoes Hannah's plea ("remember me," verse 11) and the broader biblical pattern of God "remembering" the barren and the afflicted (compare Genesis 30:22); this signals not just a simple recall but a covenant action.
- 1 Samuel 1:20a The name "Samuel" is explained by the Hebrew verb sha'al, which means "asked"; the name suggests "asked of God." This wordplay on sha'al will later connect with Saul (Sha'ul, meaning "asked for"). This note preserves the naming-by-wordplay rather than translating it away.
- 1 Samuel 1:24a The phrase "A three-year-old bull" follows the ancient Greek translation and a reading from the Dead Sea Scrolls. The standard Hebrew text reads "three bulls," which does not fit well with the single bull sacrificed in verse 25. This is a textual difference and is not resolved here.
- 1 Samuel 1:28a The phrase "Given over to the LORD" translates the Hebrew verb sha'al, which means "asked" or "lent." Hannah "lends back" to the LORD the son she "asked" for; this wordplay on Samuel's name (verse 20) and the later Saul echoes throughout the entire verse. The phrase "He worshiped" may refer to the boy or to the household; the Hebrew text is ambiguous and is not resolved here.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own translation of Scripture, made directly from the original Hebrew rather than revised from an older English Bible. Completed in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation available, and it is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Reading the TBV here on the web is free — the full study edition, with original-language tools and notes on every verse, lives in the Trinity Bible app.
Continue: 1 Samuel 2 → · All of 1 Samuel · About the TBV · Read 1 Samuel 1 in the KJV
Get the app: iOS · Android · Trinity Plus