Limitless Word
And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
1 Samuel 1:10 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to Yahweh, weeping bitterly.
  • BSB In her bitter distress, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears.
  • NKJV And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.
  • NASB She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.
  • NLT Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

In bitterness of soul Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. She brought her raw anguish honestly before God.

Overview

Hannah models heartfelt, unguarded prayer, pouring out genuine sorrow rather than masking it. Scripture commends this kind of honest lament, casting one's burdens on the Lord. Her tears before God, rather than mere complaint to others, mark the turning point of her story.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Job 7:11Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
  • Luke 22:44And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
  • Job 10:1My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
  • Ps 91:15He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
  • Heb 5:7Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
  • Isa 54:6For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
  • Judg 21:2And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
  • Job 9:18He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness.
  • Isa 38:15What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
  • Ps 50:15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
  • Ruth 1:20And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
  • 2 Kgs 20:3I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
  • Lam 3:15He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.
  • Jer 22:10Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
  • 2 Sam 13:36And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that, behold, the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept very sore.
  • Jer 13:17But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’s flock is carried away captive.
  • Gen 50:10And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
  • 2 Sam 17:8For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Samuel 1:10YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.

How 1 Samuel 1:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.