Hannah Asks the Lord for a Child
1 Elkanah lived in Ramah, a town in the hill country of Ephraim. His great-great-grandfather was Zuph, so Elkanah was a member of the Zuph clan of the Ephraim tribe. Elkanah's father was Jeroham, his grandfather was Elihu, and his great-grandfather was Tohu.
2 Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Although Peninnah had children, Hannah did not have any.
3 Once a year Elkanah traveled from his hometown to Shiloh, where he worshiped the Lord All-Powerful and offered sacrifices. Eli was the Lord's priest there, and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas served with him as priests.
4 Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he gave some of the meat to Peninnah and some to each of her sons and daughters. 5 But he gave Hannah even more, because he loved Hannah very much, even though the Lord had kept her from having children of her own.
6 Peninnah liked to make Hannah feel miserable about not having any children, 7 especially when the family went to the house of the Lord each year.
One day, Elkanah was there offering a sacrifice, when Hannah began crying and refused to eat. 8 So Elkanah asked, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won't you eat? Why do you feel so bad? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?”
9 When the sacrifice had been offered, and they had eaten the meal, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli was sitting in his chair near the door to the place of worship. 10 Hannah was heartbroken and was crying as she prayed, 11 “Lord All-Powerful, I am your servant, but I am so miserable! Please let me have a son. I promise to give him to you for as long as he lives, and his hair will never be cut.”
12-13 Hannah prayed silently to the Lord for a long time. But her lips were moving, and Eli thought she was drunk. 14 “How long are you going to stay drunk?” he asked. “Sober up!”
15-16 “Sir, please don't think I'm no good!” Hannah answered. “I'm not drunk, and I haven't been drinking. But I do feel miserable and terribly upset. I've been praying all this time, telling the Lord about my problems.”
17 Eli replied, “Go home. Everything will be fine. The God of Israel will answer your prayer.”
18 “Sir, thank you for being so kind to me,” Hannah said. Then she left, and after eating something, she felt much better.
Samuel Is Born
19 Elkanah and his family got up early the next morning and worshiped the Lord. Then they went back home to Ramah. Later the Lord blessed Elkanah and Hannah 20 with a son. She named him Samuel because she had asked the Lord for him.
Hannah Gives Samuel to the Lord
21 The next time Elkanah and his family went to offer their yearly sacrifice, he took along a gift that he had promised to give to the Lord. 22 But Hannah stayed home, because she had told Elkanah, “Samuel and I won't go until he's old enough for me to stop nursing him. Then I'll give him to the Lord, and he can stay there at Shiloh for the rest of his life.”
23 “You know what's best,” Elkanah said. “Stay here until it's time to stop nursing him. I'm sure the Lord will help you do what you have promised.” Hannah did not go to Shiloh until she stopped nursing Samuel.
24-25 When it was the time of year to go to Shiloh again, Hannah and Elkanah took Samuel to the Lord's house. They brought along a three-year-old bull, a sack containing about nine kilograms of flour, and a clay jar full of wine. Hannah and Elkanah offered the bull as a sacrifice, then brought the little boy to Eli.
26 “Sir,” Hannah said, “a few years ago I stood here beside you and asked the Lord 27 to give me a child. Here he is! The Lord gave me just what I asked for. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will be the Lord's servant for as long as he lives.”
Hannah Prays
Elkanah worshiped the Lord there at Shiloh, and
Elkana naangandjawo kuShilo
1 MuRama moshitopolwa shoondundu dhaEfraim omwa li omusamane edhina lye Elkana, gwomezimo lyaEfraim. Okwa li omuna gwaJeroham nomutekulu gwaElihu, gwomegumbo lyaTohu nogwomoludhi lwaZuf. 2 Elkana okwa li e na aakiintu yaali, Hanna naPeninna. Peninna okwa li e na aanona, ihe Hanna ke na omunona. 3 Omumvo kehe Elkana okwa zi maandjawo muRama, a ka galikane Omuwa Omunankondoawike kuShilo noku mu yambela omayambo. Aana yaali yaEli, Hofni naPinehas, oya li aayambi hoka. 4 Ethimbo kehe Elkana sho a ka yamba omayambo ge, okwa li ha gandja oshitopolwa shimwe shonyama kuPeninna nashimwe komwana kehe. 5 Nonando okwa li e hole Hanna noonkondo, okwe mu pe owala oshitopolwa shimwe, oshoka Omuwa ina pa Hanna oluvalo. 6 Peninna, omukondjithi gwe, okwa li he mu ehameke noku mu sitha ohoni, oshoka Omuwa ine mu pa oluvalo. 7 Shika osha ningwa omimvo nomimvo, aluhe sho ya yi kongulu yOmuwa. Peninna okwa hindi Hanna unene, nolwindji Hanna okwa lili nokwa tindi okulya. 8 Omulume Elkana okwe mu pula ta ti: “Hanna, oto lilile shike? Oshike inoo hala okulya? Omolwashike wa nika uupongo aluhe? Ku li nani, ngaashi handi dhiladhila, kutya ngame pungoye oshi vulithe aamwoyemati omulongo?”
Hanna naEli
9-10 Esiku limwe sho ya mana okulya mongulu yOmuwa muShilo, Hanna okwa yeluka po. Okwa li u uvite uudhigu e ta lili noonkondo ta galikana Omuwa. Omuyambi Eli okwa li a kuutumba peha lye pomweelo. 11 Hanna oku uvaneke a ti: “Omuwa Omunankondoawike, tala ndje, ongame omuntu gwoye! Tala kuudhigu wandje e to dhimbulukwa ndje! Ino dhimbwa ndje! Oshoka ngele to ka pa ndje okanona okamati, otandi uvaneke kutya otandi ke ku yapulile, ka kale koye okukalamwenyo kwako akuhe ko itaka kululwa nando.”
12 Hanna okwa tsikile okugalikana Omuwa olule, naEli okwa li a tongolola omilungu dhe. 13 Okwa li ta galikana momwenyo a mwena, omilungu dhe adhike dha li tadhi inyenge, ihe ita popi ewi lyu uvitike. Eli okwa dhiladhila kutya okwa kolwa 14 nokwa ti kuye: “Ethimbo oli thike peni to italitha wa kolwa? Etha okunwa e to kololokwa.”
15 Hanna okwa yamukula a ti: “Aawe, inandi kolwa, tatekulu, inandi nwa! Onda dhigupalelwa nonda galikana nda aneka uudhigu wandje koshipala shOmuwa. 16 Ino dhiladhila kutya ngame omukiintu omwiinayi. Onda galikana ngeyi, oshoka ondi na uudhigu noluhodhi.”
17 Eli okwa ti: “Inda nombili. Kalunga kaIsrael ne ku pe shoka we mu indile.”
18 Hanna okwa yamukula a ti: “Dhimbulukwa ndje aluhe.”
Nena okwa zi po e ta li ye ina sa we oluhodhi.
Evalo lyaSamuel nokugandjwa kwe
19 Ongula ya landula ko Elkana naangandjawo oya meneka, nokonima yokugalikana Omuwa, oya shuna kaandjawo kuRama. Elkana okwa monathana nomukadhi Hanna, Omuwa nokwa yamukula omagalikano gaHanna. 20 Onkee okwa ningi omusimba nokwa mono okamati. Okwe ka luku Samuel, ndyoka tali ti: “Onde mu indile kOmuwa.”
21 Ethimbo olya thiki ishewe lyaElkana naangandjawo, ya ye kuShilo oku ka yambela Omuwa omayambo gokomumvo nomayambo geuvaneko. 22 Ihe pethimbo ndika Hanna ina ya ko. Okwa lombwele omulume a ti: “Omunona ngele a toyo, otandi mu fala mbala kongulu yOmuwa, nkoka ta ka kala aluhe.”
23 Elkana okwa yamukula: “Eewa, ninga shoka to tala sho opala; kala ano pegumbo, sigo we mu toyitha Omuwa na tsakanithe euvaneko lyoye.” Osho ngeyi Hanna okwa kala pegumbo e ta yamutha okamwana.
24 Sho e ka toyitha, okwa kutha ontsezi yomimvo ndatu, olata yimwe yuusila womunziya nombago yu udha omaviinu e ta fala okanona Samuel kuShilo kongulu yOmuwa. 25 Sho ya tsele ontsezi, oya fala omunona kuEli. 26 Hanna okwa ti kuye: “Ombili, tatekulu. Oto dhimbulukwa ndje tuu? Ongame omukiintu ngwiyaka wa li wa mono a thikama mpaka ta galikana Omuwa. 27 Omuwa onda li nde mu indile, a pe ndje okanona haka, oye nokwa pe ndje shoka ndi indile. 28 Onkee otandi ka yapulile Omuwa. Oko okOmuwa mokukalamwenyo kwako akuhe.”
Nena oya simaneke Omuwa nkoka.
