Hannah dedicated Samuel to Yahweh

21 The following year, Elkanah again went up to Shiloh with his family to make the kind of sacrifice he made each year, and also to give a special offering to God that he had promised to give him previously. 22 But Hannah did not go with them. She said to her husband, “After I have weaned the baby, I will take him to Shiloh and present him to Yahweh, and he will stay there for the rest of his life.”

23 Elkanah said, “Do what seems the best to you. Stay here until you have weaned him. What I desire is that Yahweh will enable you to do what you have promised.” So Hannah stayed at home and nursed her son until she weaned him.

24 After she weaned him, even though Samuel was very young, she took him to the temple/house of Yahweh at Shiloh. To offer as a sacrifice, she took along a three-year-old bull, a sack containing ◄20 pounds/9 kg.► of flour, and a container of wine. 25 After the priest had slaughtered the bull and offered it to Yahweh on the altar, Hannah and Elkanah brought the boy to Eli. 26 Then Hannah said to him, “Sir, ◄Do you remember me?/I solemnly affirm►, I am the woman who prayed as I stood here beside you several years ago. 27 I prayed that Yahweh would enable me to give birth to a child, and this is the child whom I requested Yahweh to give me. 28 So now I am presenting him to Yahweh. He will belong to Yahweh as long as he lives.” Then Elkanah and his family worshiped Yahweh there.

2 Then Hannah prayed, saying,

“I rejoice in what you, Yahweh, have done.

I am strong [MET] because I belong to you.

I ◄laugh at/ridicule► my enemies,

because you, Yahweh have rescued me from being taunted by them.

2 There is no one who is holy like you, Yahweh.

There is no other god like you.

There is no one like you, our God, who can protect us as though you were putting us beneath a huge rock where we can hide from danger.

3 You people who oppose God, stop boasting!

Yahweh is a God who knows everything,

and he will evaluate/judge everyone’s actions.

So don’t speak so arrogantly!

4 Yahweh, you break the bows/weapons of mighty soldiers,

and you give strength to those who stumble because of being weak.

5 Many people who previously had plenty to eat, now have to work for other people to earn money to buy food,

but many who were always hungry are not hungry any more.

The woman who did not have any children before, now has given birth to many/seven children,

and the woman who had many children before, now is very lonely because they have all died.

6 Yahweh, you cause some people to die,

and you restore some people who are almost dead.

For some people, it seems that they will soon go to where the dead people are, but you cause them to become healthy again.

7 Yahweh, you cause some people to be poor and you cause some people to be rich,

you humble some people and you honor some people.

8 Sometimes you lift poor people up so that they are no longer despondent, sitting in the dust,

or sitting on heaps of ashes;

you cause them to sit next to princes;

you cause them to sit on chairs/thrones where people who are highly honored sit.

Yahweh, you are the one who laid the foundations of the earth,

and you have set the whole world on those foundations.

9 You will protect your loyal/faithful people [SYN],

but you will cause the wicked to die [EUP] and descend to the dark place where dead people are.

We do not defeat our enemies by our own strength;

10 Yahweh, you will break into pieces those who oppose you.

You will cause thunder in the sky to show that you ◄oppose/are angry with► them.

Yahweh, you will judge people everywhere, even those who live in the most remote places on the earth.

You will give strength to the king whom you will appoint, and give him great power over his enemies.”

11 Then Elkanah and his family returned to Ramah, but Samuel, the little boy, stayed to help Eli the priest serve Yahweh.