1 Samuel 1:13-19

1:13 Now Hannah was speaking from her heart. Although her lips were moving, her voice was inaudible. Eli therefore thought she was drunk. 1:14 So he ¹  said to her, “How often do you intend to get drunk? Put away your wine!”

1:15 But Hannah replied, “That’s not the way it is, ²  my lord! I am under a great deal of stress. ³  I have drunk neither wine nor beer. Rather, I have poured out my soul to ⁴  the Lord. 1:16 Don’t consider your servant a wicked woman, ⁵  for until now I have spoken from my deep pain and anguish.”

1:17 Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request that you have asked of him.” 1:18 She said, “May I, your servant, find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and got something to eat. ⁶  Her face no longer looked sad.

1:19 They got up early the next morning and after worshiping the Lord, they returned to their home at Ramah. Elkanah had marital relations with ⁷  his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered ⁸  her.

[1:14]  ¹ tn Heb “Eli.” The pronoun (“he”) has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[1:15]  ² tn Heb “No.”

[1:15]  ³ tn Heb “I am a woman difficult of spirit.” The LXX has “for whom the day is difficult,” apparently mistaking the Hebrew word for “spirit” רוּחַ (ruakh) to be the word for “day” יוֹם (yom).

[1:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “before.”

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “daughter of worthlessness.”

[1:18]  ⁶ tc Several medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta lack the words “and got something to eat.”

[1:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “Elkanah knew his wife.” The Hebrew expression is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[1:19]  ⁸ sn The Lord “remembered” her in the sense of granting her earlier request for a child. The Hebrew verb is often used in the OT for considering the needs or desires of people with favor and kindness.