Samuel’s Birth

1 There was a man named Elkanah from Ramathaim Zophim in the mountains of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, grandson of Elihu, great-grandson of Tohu, whose father was Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim. ² Elkanah had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. ³ Every year this man would go from his own city to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Armies at Shiloh. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served there as priests of the Lord.

⁴ Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he would give portions of it to his wife Peninnah and all her sons and daughters. ⁵ He would also give one portion to Hannah because he loved her, even though the Lord had kept her from having children. ⁶ Because the Lord had made her unable to have children, her rival Peninnah tormented her endlessly in order to make her miserable. ⁷ This happened year after year. Whenever Hannah went to the Lord’s house, Peninnah would make her miserable, and Hannah would cry and not eat. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah would ask her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why haven’t you eaten? Why are you so downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ One day, after Hannah had something to eat and drink in Shiloh, she got up. (The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the door of the Lord’s temple.) ¹⁰ Though she was resentful, she prayed to the Lord while she cried. ¹¹ She made this vow, “Lord of Armies, if you will look at my misery, remember me, and give me a boy, then I will give him to you for as long as he lives. A razor will never be used on his head.” ¹² While Hannah was praying a long time in front of the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ She was praying silently. Her voice couldn’t be heard; only her lips were moving. Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴ “How long are you going to stay drunk?” Eli asked her. “Get rid of your wine.”

¹⁵ Hannah responded, “No sir. I’m not drunk. I’m depressed. I’m pouring out my heart to the Lord. ¹⁶ Don’t take me to be a good-for-nothing woman. I was praying like this because I’ve been troubled and tormented.”

¹⁷ Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request.”

¹⁸ “May you continue to be kind to me,” she said. Then the woman went her way and ate. She was no longer sad.^[a]

¹⁹ Early in the morning Elkanah and his family got up and worshiped in front of the Lord. Then they returned home to Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel [God Hears], because she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”

Samuel’s Childhood

²¹ To keep his vow, Elkanah and his entire household again went to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord. ²² But Hannah didn’t go. She told her husband, “I’ll wait until the boy is weaned. Then I’ll bring him and present him to the Lord, and he’ll stay there permanently.”

²³ “Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Wait until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord keep his word.” The woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ As soon as she had weaned Samuel, she took him with her. She also brought a three-year-old bull,^[b] half a bushel of flour, and a full wineskin. She brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh while the boy was still a child.

²⁵ Then the parents butchered the bull and brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ “Sir,” Hannah said, “as sure as you live, I’m the woman who stood here next to you and prayed to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. ²⁸ In return, I am giving him to the Lord. He will be dedicated to the Lord for his whole life.”

And they worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Hannah prayed out loud,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy Samuel served the Lord under the priest Eli.

The Sins of Eli’s Sons

¹² Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the Lord. ¹³ Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up from the pot belonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there to sacrifice. ¹⁵ But in the case of Eli’s sons, even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw.”

¹⁶ If the man said to the servant, “First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want,” the servant would say to him, “Give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” ¹⁷ The sin of Eli’s sons was a serious matter to the Lord, because these men were treating the offerings made to the Lord with contempt.

The Faithfulness of Samuel’s Family

¹⁸ Meanwhile, Samuel continued to serve in front of the Lord. As a boy he was already wearing a linen ephod. ^{[d] 19} His mother would make him a robe and bring it to him every year when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.

²¹ The Lord came to Hannah. She became pregnant five times and had three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in front of the Lord.

Jesus Cures a Man at the Bethesda Pool

5 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival.

² Near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It had five porches. ³ Under these porches a large number of sick people—people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed—used to lie. ^{[a] 5} One man, who had been sick for 38 years, was lying there. ⁶ Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been sick for a long time. So Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?”

⁷ The sick man answered Jesus, “Sir, I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I’m trying to get there, someone else steps into the pool ahead of me.”

⁸ Jesus told the man, “Get up, pick up your cot, and walk.” ⁹ The man immediately became well, picked up his cot, and walked.

That happened on a day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁰ So the Jews told the man who had been healed, “This is a day of rest—a holy day. You’re not allowed to carry your cot today.”

¹¹ The man replied, “The man who made me well told me to pick up my cot and walk.”

¹² The Jews asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick it up and walk?” ¹³ But the man who had been healed didn’t know who Jesus was. (Jesus had withdrawn from the crowd.)

¹⁴ Later, Jesus met the man in the temple courtyard and told him, “You’re well now. Stop sinning so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.”

¹⁵ The man went back to the Jews and told them that Jesus was the man who had made him well.

The Son Is Equal to the Father

¹⁶ The Jews began to persecute Jesus because he kept healing people on the day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁷ Jesus replied to them, “My Father is working right now, and so am I.”

¹⁸ His reply made the Jews more intent on killing him. Not only did he break the laws about the day of rest—a holy day, but also he made himself equal to God when he said repeatedly that God was his Father.

¹⁹ Jesus said to the Jews, “I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. ²⁰ The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. The Father will show him even greater things to do than these things so that you will be amazed. ²¹ In the same way that the Father brings back the dead and gives them life, the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.

²² “The Father doesn’t judge anyone. He has entrusted judgment entirely to the Son ²³ so that everyone will honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.

Samuel’s Birth

1 There was a man named Elkanah from Ramathaim Zophim in the mountains of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, grandson of Elihu, great-grandson of Tohu, whose father was Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim. ² Elkanah had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. ³ Every year this man would go from his own city to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Armies at Shiloh. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served there as priests of the Lord.

⁴ Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he would give portions of it to his wife Peninnah and all her sons and daughters. ⁵ He would also give one portion to Hannah because he loved her, even though the Lord had kept her from having children. ⁶ Because the Lord had made her unable to have children, her rival Peninnah tormented her endlessly in order to make her miserable. ⁷ This happened year after year. Whenever Hannah went to the Lord’s house, Peninnah would make her miserable, and Hannah would cry and not eat. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah would ask her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why haven’t you eaten? Why are you so downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ One day, after Hannah had something to eat and drink in Shiloh, she got up. (The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the door of the Lord’s temple.) ¹⁰ Though she was resentful, she prayed to the Lord while she cried. ¹¹ She made this vow, “Lord of Armies, if you will look at my misery, remember me, and give me a boy, then I will give him to you for as long as he lives. A razor will never be used on his head.” ¹² While Hannah was praying a long time in front of the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ She was praying silently. Her voice couldn’t be heard; only her lips were moving. Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴ “How long are you going to stay drunk?” Eli asked her. “Get rid of your wine.”

¹⁵ Hannah responded, “No sir. I’m not drunk. I’m depressed. I’m pouring out my heart to the Lord. ¹⁶ Don’t take me to be a good-for-nothing woman. I was praying like this because I’ve been troubled and tormented.”

¹⁷ Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request.”

¹⁸ “May you continue to be kind to me,” she said. Then the woman went her way and ate. She was no longer sad.^[a]

¹⁹ Early in the morning Elkanah and his family got up and worshiped in front of the Lord. Then they returned home to Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel [God Hears], because she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”

Samuel’s Childhood

²¹ To keep his vow, Elkanah and his entire household again went to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord. ²² But Hannah didn’t go. She told her husband, “I’ll wait until the boy is weaned. Then I’ll bring him and present him to the Lord, and he’ll stay there permanently.”

²³ “Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Wait until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord keep his word.” The woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

²⁴ As soon as she had weaned Samuel, she took him with her. She also brought a three-year-old bull,^[b] half a bushel of flour, and a full wineskin. She brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh while the boy was still a child.

²⁵ Then the parents butchered the bull and brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ “Sir,” Hannah said, “as sure as you live, I’m the woman who stood here next to you and prayed to the Lord. ²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request. ²⁸ In return, I am giving him to the Lord. He will be dedicated to the Lord for his whole life.”

And they worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Prayer

2 Hannah prayed out loud,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy Samuel served the Lord under the priest Eli.

The Sins of Eli’s Sons

¹² Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were good-for-nothing priests; they had no faith in the Lord. ¹³ Now, this was how the priests dealt with the people who were offering sacrifices: While the meat was boiling, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ Then he would stick it into the pot, kettle, cauldron, or pan. Whatever the fork brought up from the pot belonged to the priest. This is what the priests did in Shiloh to all the people of Israel who came there to sacrifice. ¹⁵ But in the case of Eli’s sons, even before the people burned the fat, their servants would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the meat to the priest to roast. He doesn’t want boiled meat from you. He wants it raw.”

¹⁶ If the man said to the servant, “First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you want,” the servant would say to him, “Give it to me now, or I’ll take it by force.” ¹⁷ The sin of Eli’s sons was a serious matter to the Lord, because these men were treating the offerings made to the Lord with contempt.

The Faithfulness of Samuel’s Family

¹⁸ Meanwhile, Samuel continued to serve in front of the Lord. As a boy he was already wearing a linen ephod. ^{[d] 19} His mother would make him a robe and bring it to him every year when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.

²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah (and his wife) and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one which she has given to the Lord.” Then they would go home.

²¹ The Lord came to Hannah. She became pregnant five times and had three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in front of the Lord.

Jesus Cures a Man at the Bethesda Pool

5 Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a Jewish festival.

² Near Sheep Gate in Jerusalem was a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It had five porches. ³ Under these porches a large number of sick people—people who were blind, lame, or paralyzed—used to lie. ^{[a] 5} One man, who had been sick for 38 years, was lying there. ⁶ Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been sick for a long time. So Jesus asked the man, “Would you like to get well?”

⁷ The sick man answered Jesus, “Sir, I don’t have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I’m trying to get there, someone else steps into the pool ahead of me.”

⁸ Jesus told the man, “Get up, pick up your cot, and walk.” ⁹ The man immediately became well, picked up his cot, and walked.

That happened on a day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁰ So the Jews told the man who had been healed, “This is a day of rest—a holy day. You’re not allowed to carry your cot today.”

¹¹ The man replied, “The man who made me well told me to pick up my cot and walk.”

¹² The Jews asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick it up and walk?” ¹³ But the man who had been healed didn’t know who Jesus was. (Jesus had withdrawn from the crowd.)

¹⁴ Later, Jesus met the man in the temple courtyard and told him, “You’re well now. Stop sinning so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.”

¹⁵ The man went back to the Jews and told them that Jesus was the man who had made him well.

The Son Is Equal to the Father

¹⁶ The Jews began to persecute Jesus because he kept healing people on the day of rest—a holy day. ¹⁷ Jesus replied to them, “My Father is working right now, and so am I.”

¹⁸ His reply made the Jews more intent on killing him. Not only did he break the laws about the day of rest—a holy day, but also he made himself equal to God when he said repeatedly that God was his Father.

¹⁹ Jesus said to the Jews, “I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. ²⁰ The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. The Father will show him even greater things to do than these things so that you will be amazed. ²¹ In the same way that the Father brings back the dead and gives them life, the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.

²² “The Father doesn’t judge anyone. He has entrusted judgment entirely to the Son ²³ so that everyone will honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.