She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.
Parallel translations
- WEB She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to Yahweh, weeping bitterly.
- KJV And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
- 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.
- 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 7:11“Therefore I will not keep silent. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
- Luke 22:44Being in agony he prayed more earnestly. His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.
- Job 10:1“My soul is weary of my life. I will give free course to my complaint. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
- Ps 91:15He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him.
- Heb 5:7He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear,
- Isa 54:6For Yahweh has called you as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off,” says your God.
- Judg 21:2The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely.
- Job 9:18He will not allow me to catch my breath, but fills me with bitterness.
- Isa 38:15What will I say? He has both spoken to me, and himself has done it. I will walk carefully all my years because of the anguish of my soul.
- Ps 50:15Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
- Ruth 1:20She said to them, “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara; for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
- 2 Kgs 20:3“Remember now, Yahweh, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
- Lam 3:15He has filled me with bitterness. He has sated me with wormwood.
- Jer 22:10Don’t weep for the dead, neither bemoan him; but weep bitterly for him who goes away; for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
- 2 Sam 13:36As soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voice, and wept. The king also and all his servants wept bitterly.
- Jer 13:17But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride; and my eye shall weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because Yahweh’s flock is taken captive.
- Gen 50:10They came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they lamented with a very great and severe lamentation. He mourned for his father seven days.
- 2 Sam 17:8Hushai said moreover, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are fierce in their minds, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Your father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
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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
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