Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t consider your servant a wicked woman; for I have been speaking out of the abundance of my complaint and my provocation.”
- BSB Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; for all this time I have been praying out of the depth of my anguish and grief.”
- NKJV “Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”
- NASB Do not consider your bond-servant a useless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.”
- NLT Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”
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
Hannah asked Eli not to regard her as a wicked woman, for she had spoken out of great grief. She appealed for her sincerity to be recognized.
Overview
Hannah distinguishes herself from a 'worthless woman,' insisting her prayer arose from genuine anguish, not impiety. Her words display both humility and a clear conscience before God. Her honest plea moves Eli from rebuke to blessing, showing the power of a gentle answer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Sam 2:12Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
- Job 10:1–2My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
- Matt 12:34–35O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
- Job 6:2–3Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!
- 1 Sam 10:27But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.
- Deut 13:13Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
- 1 Sam 25:25Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.
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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 1:16 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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