“Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah replied, “and stay here until you have weaned him. Only may the LORD confirm His word.” So Hannah stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems good to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only may Yahweh establish his word.” So the woman waited and nursed her son, until she weaned him.
- KJV And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.
- NKJV So Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord establish His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
- NASB Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you. Stay until you have weaned him; only may the Lord confirm His word.” So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she weaned him.
- NLT “Whatever you think is best,” Elkanah agreed. “Stay here for now, and may the Lord help you keep your promise.” So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned.
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
Elkanah agreed, praying that the Lord would establish His word, while Hannah nursed Samuel until weaned. The couple acts together in faith and obedience to their vow.
Overview
Elkanah supports Hannah's plan and adds a prayer that God would confirm His purpose. Their shared commitment to fulfill the vow models marital unity in devotion to God. The phrase 'establish his word' anticipates that this child's dedication is part of the Lord's larger plan for Israel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Sam 7:25And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You have promised,
- Ps 22:9Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure at my mother’s breast.
- Isa 44:26who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’
- Luke 11:27As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”
- 1 Sam 1:17“Go in peace,” Eli replied, “and may the God of Israel grant the petition you have asked of Him.”
- Matt 24:19How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers!
- Gen 21:7–8She added, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
- Num 30:7–11and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her on that day, then the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.
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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 1:23 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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