1 Samuel 2:11

English Revised Version

And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before 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.

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.

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.

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

¹¹ And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest. ¹² Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. ¹³ And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; ¹⁴ and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. ¹⁵ Yea, before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. ¹⁶ And if the man said unto him, They will surely burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would say, Nay, but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. ¹⁷ And the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD. ¹⁸ But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. ¹⁹ Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which was lent to the LORD. And they went unto 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
And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteca: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

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

Genesis 25:18
And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: he abode in the presence of all his brethren.

1 Samuel 15:7
And Saul Smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is before 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.