May 12th

Now he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

Now that man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to Yahweh there.

And the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, and he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters;

but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but Yahweh had closed her womb.

Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her because Yahweh had closed her womb.

And so it would happen year after year, as often as she went up to the house of Yahweh, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat.

Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of Yahweh.

And she, bitter of soul, prayed to Yahweh and wept despondently.

And she made a vow and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a seed amongst men, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”

Now it happened, as she multiplied her praying before Yahweh, that Eli was watching her mouth.

As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart; only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.”

But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before Yahweh.

Do not consider your maidservant as a vile woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great complaint and provocation.”

Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.”

And she said, “Let your servant-woman find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh and turned back and came to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her.

Now it happened in due time that Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of Yahweh.”

Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to Yahweh the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow.

But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the young boy is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before Yahweh and stay there forever.”

And Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what is good in your eyes. Remain until you have weaned him; only may Yahweh establish His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.

Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine and brought him to the house of Yahweh in Shiloh, although the boy was young.

Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the young boy to Eli.

And she said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to Yahweh.

For this young boy I prayed, and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of Him.

So I have also dedicated him to Yahweh; as long as he lives, he is dedicated to Yahweh.” So he worshiped Yahweh there.

Then Hannah prayed and said,

Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the young boy ministered to Yahweh before Eli the priest.

Now the sons of Eli were vile men; they did not know Yahweh.

And this was the legal judgment for the priests with the people: when any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s young man would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand.

Then he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot; all that the fork would bring up the priest would take for himself. Thus they would do in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

Also, before they offered up the fat in smoke, the priest’s young man would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting; he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.”

Then the man would say to him, “They must surely offer up the fat in smoke first, and then take as much as your soul desires,” then he would say, “No, you shall give it now; and if not, I will take it by force.”

Thus the sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh, for the men spurned the offering of Yahweh.

Now Samuel was ministering before Yahweh, as a young boy girded with a linen ephod.

And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May Yahweh establish for you a seed from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to Yahweh.” And they went to their own home.

Yahweh indeed visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the young boy Samuel grew before Yahweh.

Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

So he said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people?

No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the people of Yahweh passing about.

If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against Yahweh, who can pray for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for Yahweh desired to put them to death.

Now the young boy Samuel was growing in stature and in favor both with Yahweh and with men.

Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, enslaved to Pharaoh’s house?

And did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?

Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My habitation, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’

Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now Yahweh declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be cursed.

Behold, the days are coming, and I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house.

And you will look upon the distress of My habitation, in spite of all the good that I do for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house all the days.

Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will be put to death in the prime of life.

Now this will be the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will be put to death.

But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him a faithful house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

And it will be that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”

On the next day, he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who has been ahead of me, for He existed before me.’

I did not know Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing with water.”

And John bore witness saying, “I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abided on Him.

And I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The One upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding on Him, this is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

And I myself have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

On the next day, John again was standing with two of his disciples,

and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

And the two disciples heard him speak and followed Jesus.

And when Jesus turned and noticed them following, He *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”

He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day. It was about the tenth hour.

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

He first *found his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ).

He brought him to Jesus. When Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

On the next day, He desired to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me.”

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

And Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip *said to him, “Come and see.”

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said about him, “Behold, truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”

Nathanael *said to Him, “From where do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”