1. Hannah said:“The Lord has filled my heart with joy.I feel very strong in the Lord.I can laugh at my enemies.I am glad because you have helped me!
2. “There is no one holy like the Lord.There is no God but you.There is no Rock like our God.
3. “Don’t continue bragging.Don’t speak proud words.The Lord is a God who knows everything.He judges what people do.
4. “The bows of warriors break,but weak people become strong.
5. Those who once had plenty of food now must work for food.But people who once were hungry now grow fat on food.The woman who was unable to have children now has had seven.But the woman who had many sons now is sad.
6. “The Lord causes people to die,and he causes them to live.He brings people down to where the dead are,and he raises them to life again.
7. The Lord makes people poor,and he makes people rich.He makes people humble,and he makes people great.
8. The Lord raises the poor up from the dust.And he picks needy people up from the ashes.He lets the poor sit with princes.He lets them sit on a throne of honor.“The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord.The Lord set the world upon them.
9. He protects his holy people.But those who do evil will be silenced in darkness.Their power will not help them win.
10. The Lord destroys his enemies.He will thunder in heaven against them.The Lord will judge all the earth.He will give power to his king.He will make his appointed king strong.”
11. Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy continued to serve the Lord under Eli the priest.
12. Now Eli’s sons were evil men. They did not care about the Lord.
13. This is what the priests would do to the people: Every time someone brought a sacrifice, the meat would be cooked in a pot. The priest’s servant would then come with a fork in his hand. The fork had three prongs.
14. He would plunge the fork into the pot or the kettle. Whatever the fork brought out of the pot belonged to the priest. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh to offer sacrifices.
15. But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come to the person offering sacrifices. The servant would say, “Give the priest some meat to roast. The priest won’t accept boiled meat from you. He will only accept raw meat.”
16. But the man who offered the sacrifice might say, “Let the fat be burned up first as usual. Then you may take anything you want.”If so, the priest’s servant would answer, “No, give me the meat now. If you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”
17. The Lord saw that the sin of the servants was very great. They did not show respect for the offerings made to the Lord.
18. But Samuel obeyed the Lord. He wore a linen holy vest.