1 Samuel 2:11

Amplified Bible

Elkanah [and his wife Hannah] returned to Ramah to his house. But the child [Samuel] served the LORD under the guidance of Eli the priest.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy served the Lord in the presence of the priest Eli.

Hebrew Names Version
Elkana went to Ramah to his house. The child did minister to the LORD before `Eli the Kohen.

King James Version
And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.

Lexham English Bible
Then Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house. Now the boy was serving Yahweh in the presence of Eli the priest.

English Standard Version
Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

New Century Version
Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy continued to serve the Lord under Eli the priest.

New English Translation
Then Elkanah went back home to Ramah. But the boy was serving the Lord under the supervision of Eli the priest.

New American Standard Bible
Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the boy continued to attend to the service of the LORD before Eli the priest.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house, and the childe did minister vnto the Lord before Eli the Priest.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the young boy ministered to Yahweh before Eli the priest.

Contemporary English Version
Elkanah and Hannah went back home to Ramah, but the boy Samuel stayed to help Eli serve the Lord .

Complete Jewish Bible
Elkanah went home to Ramah, while the child began ministering to Adonai under the direction of ‘Eli the cohen.

Darby Translation
And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the boy ministered to Jehovah in the presence of Eli the priest.

Easy-to-Read Version
Elkanah and his family went home to Ramah, but the boy stayed in Shiloh and served the Lord under Eli the priest.

George Lamsa Translation
And Hilkanah and his wife Hannah returned to Ramtha to his house. And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.

Good News Translation
Then Elkanah went back home to Ramah, but the boy Samuel stayed in Shiloh and served the Lord under the priest Eli.

Literal Translation
And Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house. And the child served Jehovah before Eli the priest.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Elcana wente his waye to Ramath vnto his house. And the childe became the LORDES mynister before Eli the prest.

American Standard Version
And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto Jehovah before Eli the priest.

Bible in Basic English
Then Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child became the servant of the Lord under the direction of Eli the priest.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Elkana went to Ramath to his house, and the lad dyd minister vnto the Lorde before Eli the priest.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.

King James Version (1611)
And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house, and the child did minister vnto the Lord before Eli the Priest.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and departed to Armathaim: and the child ministered in the presence of the Lord before Heli the priest.

English Revised Version
And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy began ministering to the LORD before Eli the priest.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Helcana yede in to Ramatha, in to his hows; forsothe the child was seruaunt in the siyt of the Lord bifor the face of Ely the preest.

Young's Literal Translation
And Elkanah goeth to Ramath, unto his house, and the youth hath been serving Jehovah, [in] the presence of Eli the priest;

Update Bible Version
And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the lad was ministering to Yahweh before Eli the priest.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.

World English Bible
Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. The child did minister to Yahweh before Eli the priest.

New King James Version
Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.

New Living Translation
Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.

New Life Bible
Elkanah went home to Ramah. But the boy served the Lord with Eli the religious leader.

New Revised Standard
Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, while the boy remained to minister to the Lord , in the presence of the priest Eli.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then went Elkanah to Ramah, unto his own house, - but, the boy, remained ministering unto Yahweh, before Eli the priest.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Elcana went to Ramatha, to his house: but the child ministered in the sight of the Lord before the face of Heli the priest.

Revised Standard Version
Then Elka'nah went home to Ramah. And the boy ministered to the LORD, in the presence of Eli the priest.

THE MESSAGE
Elkanah went home to Ramah. The boy stayed and served God in the company of Eli the priest.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the boy ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.

Contextual Overview

¹¹Elkanah [and his wife Hannah] returned to Ramah to his house. But the child [Samuel] served the LORD under the guidance of Eli the priest.¹²The sons of Eli [Hophni and Phinehas] were worthless (dishonorable, unprincipled) men; they did not know [nor respect] the LORD ¹³and the custom of the priests with [the sacrifices of] the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged [meat] fork in his hand; ¹⁴then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; everything that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did in Shiloh to all [the sacrifices of] the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵Also, before they burned (offered) the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest meat to roast, since he will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw." ¹⁶If the man said to him, "Certainly they are to burn (offer) the fat first, and then you may take as much as you want," then the priest's servant would say, "No! You shall give it to me now or I will take it by force." ¹⁷So the sin of the [two] young men [Hophni and Phinehas] was very great before the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD disrespectfully. ¹⁸Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD, as a child dressed in a linen ephod [a sacred item of priestly clothing]. ¹⁹Moreover, his mother would make him a little robe and would bring it up to him each year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, "May the LORD give you children by this woman in place of the one she asked for which was dedicated to the LORD." Then they would return to their own home.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

minister: 1 Samuel 2:18, 1 Samuel 1:28, 1 Samuel 3:1, 1 Samuel 3:15

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 1:22 - and there 1 Samuel 2:20 - General Acts 13:2 - they Philippians 3:19 - whose God Titus 1:6 - having Hebrews 11:32 - Samuel

Cross-References

Genesis 10:7
the sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah; Sheba and Dedan.

Genesis 10:29
and Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.

Genesis 25:18
Ishmael's sons (descendants) settled from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt as one goes toward Assyria; he settled opposite (east) of all his relatives.

1 Samuel 15:7
Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house,.... Of which see 1 Samuel 1:19. This was after he had offered the sacrifices at the feast, worshipped the Lord, and Hannah had delivered her prayer or song of praise, and both had committed Samuel to the care of Eli, and left him with him:

and the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest; he not only read in the book of the law, but learned to sing the praises of God vocally, and to play upon an instrument of music used in the service of God in those times, and to light the lamps in the tabernacle, and open and shut the doors of it, and the like; which were suitable to his age, and which might not be quite so tender as some have thought; or this may respect some small beginnings in the ministry of the sanctuary, in which he gradually increased under the inspection, guidance, and instruction of Eli, which is meant by ministering before him; the Targum is,

"in the life of Eli the priest;''

he began his ministration before his death.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The word “minister” is used in three senses in Scripture:

(1) of the service or ministration of both priests and Levites rendered unto the Lord Exodus 28:35, Exodus 28:43 :

(2) of the ministrations of the Levites as rendered to the priests, to aid them in divine Service Numbers 3:6 :

(3) of any service or ministration, especially one rendered to a man of God, as that of Joshua to Moses Numbers 11:28.

The application of it to Samuel as ministering to the Lord before Eli the priest accords “most exactly” with Samuel’s condition as a Levite.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 2:11. And Elkanah went to Ramah — Immediately after the 10th verse, the Septuagint add, Και κατελιπεν αυτον εκει ενωπιον Κυριου· και απηλθεν εις Αραματαια, And she left him there before the Lord, and went unto Arimathea. Thus the Septuagint suppose that the song of Hannah was composed when she brought Samuel to present him to the Lord; and as soon as she had completed this fine ode, she delivered him into the hands of Eli the high priest, and the child entered immediately on his ministration, under the direction and instructions of Eli.