1 Det var en mann fra Ramatajim, en Sufitt fra fjellandet i Efraim, som het Elkana; han var sønn av Jeroham, sønn av Elihu, sønn av Tohu, sønn av Suf, en efraimit.

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite of the hill-country of Ephraim, named Elkanah; he was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite:

2 Han hadde to koner, den ene het Hanna og den andre Peninna. Peninna hadde barn, men Hanna hadde ingen barn.

And he had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah: and Peninnah was the mother of children, but Hannah had no children.

3 Hvert år dro denne mannen fra sin by for å tilbe og ofre til Herren, hærskarenes Gud, i Sjilo. Elis to sønner, Hofni og Pinehas, som var prester for Herren, var der.

Now this man went up from his town every year to give worship and to make offerings to the Lord of armies in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.

4 Når tiden kom for Elkana til å ofre, ga han Peninna, sin kone, og alle hennes sønner og døtre deres del av måltidet.

And when the day came for Elkanah to make his offering, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and daughters, their part of the feast:

5 Men til Hanna ga han en særlig del, for han hadde henne kjær, men Herren hadde ikke gitt henne barn.

But to Hannah he gave one part, though Hannah was very dear to him, but the Lord had not let her have children.

6 Den andre kona gjorde alt hun kunne for å gjøre henne ulykkelig fordi Herren ikke hadde gitt henne barn.

And the other wife did everything possible to make her unhappy, because the Lord had not let her have children;

7 År etter år, når hun dro opp til Herrens hus, såret hun henne, slik at Hanna gråt og ikke ville spise.

And year by year, whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, she kept on attacking her, so that Hannah gave herself up to weeping and would take no food.

8 Hennes mann Elkana sa til henne: «Hanna, hvorfor gråter du? Hvorfor vil du ikke spise? Hvorfor er hjertet ditt sorgfullt? Er jeg ikke mer for deg enn ti sønner?»

Then her husband Elkanah said to her, Hannah, why are you weeping? and why are you taking no food? why is your heart troubled? am I not more to you than ten sons?

9 Etter måltidet i gjesterommet reiste Hanna seg. Eli, presten, satt ved tempeldørenes søyler.

So after they had taken food and wine in the guest room, Hannah got up. Now Eli the priest was seated by the pillars of the doorway of the Temple of the Lord.

10 Med sorg i sjelen ba hun til Herren mens hun gråt bittert.

And with grief in her soul, weeping bitterly, she made her prayer to the Lord.

11 Hun avla et løfte og sa: «Herre, hærskarenes Gud, hvis du virkelig legger merke til din tjenestekvinnes sorg, uten å vende deg bort fra meg, men husker meg og gir meg en sønn, skal jeg gi ham til Herren alle hans dager, og hår skal aldri klippes på hans hode.»

And she made an oath, and said, O Lord of armies, if you will truly take note of the sorrow of your servant, not turning away from me but keeping me in mind, and will give me a man-child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut.

12 Mens hun ba lenge for Herren, fulgte Eli med hennes munn.

Now while she was a long time in prayer before the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth.

13 For Hannas bønn kom fra hjertet, og selv om leppene hennes beveget seg, kom det ingen lyd. Derfor trodde Eli at hun var beruset.

For Hannah's prayer came from her heart, and though her lips were moving she made no sound: so it seemed to Eli that she was overcome with wine.

14 Eli sa til henne: «Hvor lenge skal du være beruset? Legg bort drikken fra deg.»

And Eli said to her, How long are you going to be the worse for drink? Put away the effects of your wine from you.

15 Hanna svarte ham: «Nei, min herre, jeg er en kvinne med en knust ånd; jeg har ikke drukket vin eller sterk drikk, men jeg har utøst mitt hjerte for Herren.»

And Hannah, answering him, said, No, my lord, I am a woman whose spirit is broken with sorrow: I have not taken wine or strong drink, but I have been opening my heart before the Lord.

16 Ikke regn din tjenerinne som en verdiløs kvinne, for min tale kommer fra min store sorg og sorg.

Do not take your servant to be a good-for-nothing woman: for my words have come from my stored-up sorrow and pain.

17 Da sa Eli: «Gå i fred, og måtte Israels Gud gi deg svar på bønnen du har rettet til ham.»

Then Eli said to her, Go in peace: and may the God of Israel give you an answer to the prayer you have made to him.

18 Hun sa: «Må jeg finne nåde for dine øyne.» Så gikk kvinnen bort, tok del i måltidet, og hennes ansikt var ikke lenger sorgfullt.

And she said, May your servant have grace in your eyes. So the woman went away, and took part in the feast, and her face was no longer sad.

19 Tidlig neste morgen sto de opp, tilba Herren og dro tilbake til hjemmet sitt i Rama. Elkana hadde samvær med sin kone, og Herren tenkte på henne.

And early in the morning they got up, and after worshipping before the Lord they went back to Ramah, to their house: and Elkanah had connection with his wife; and the Lord kept her in mind.

20 Etter en tid ble Hanna gravid og fødte en sønn, og hun ga ham navnet Samuel, for hun sa: «Jeg har bedt Herren om ham.»

Now the time came when Hannah, being with child, gave birth to a son; and she gave him the name Samuel, Because, she said, I made a prayer to the Lord for him.

21 Elkana dro opp med hele sin familie for å gi årets offer til Herren og oppfylle sitt løfte.

And the man Elkanah with all his family went up to make the year's offering to the Lord, and to give effect to his oath.

22 Men Hanna dro ikke med, for hun sa til sin mann: «Jeg vil ikke dra før barnet er avvent. Da vil jeg ta ham med meg for å stille ham fram for Herren, hvor han kan være for alltid.»

But Hannah did not go, for she said to her husband, I will not go till the child has been taken from the breast, and then I will take him with me and put him before the Lord, where he may be for ever.

23 Hennes mann Elkana sa til henne: «Gjør som du synes er best; bli til du har avvent ham. Måtte Herren oppfylle sitt ord.» Så forble kvinnen hjemme mens hun ga sønnen melk til han var gammel nok til å avvennes.

And her husband Elkanah said to her, Do whatever seems right to you, but not till you have taken him from the breast; only may the Lord do as he has said. So the woman, waiting there, gave her son milk till he was old enough to be taken from the breast.

24 Da hun hadde avvent ham, tok hun ham med seg, sammen med en treårig okse, en efa mel og en skinnsekk full vin, og dro til Herrens hus i Sjilo. Nå var barnet fortsatt meget ungt.

Then when she had done so, she took him with her, with a three-year old ox and an ephah of meal and a skin full of wine, and took him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh: now the child was still very young.

25 De ofret oksen og tok barnet med seg til Eli.

And when they had made an offering of the ox, they took the child to Eli.

26 Hun sa: «Min herre, så sant din sjel lever, min herre, jeg er kvinnen som stod her ved din side og ba til Herren.»

And she said, O my lord, as your soul is living, my lord, I am that woman who was making a prayer to the Lord here by your side:

27 «Jeg ba for dette barnet, og Herren har gitt meg det jeg ba om.»

My prayer was for this child; and the Lord has given him to me in answer to my request:

28 «Derfor har jeg gitt ham til Herren; hele hans liv skal han tilhøre Herren.» Så tilba de Herren der.

So I have given him to the Lord; for all his life he is the Lord's. Then he gave the Lord worship there.