1 Samuel 1:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.”

NIV: and said to her, 'How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.'

NASB: Then Eli said to her, 'How long will you behave like a drunk? Get rid of your wine!'

CSB: and said to her, "How long are you going to be drunk? Get rid of your wine! "

NLT: Must you come here drunk?' he demanded. 'Throw away your wine!'

KJV: And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

NKJV: So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”

Eli is the high priest of Israel. He has observed a woman, Hannah, praying intensely at the temple at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:9–12). But he does not realize she is praying. He sees her lips moving and hears no sound, and he assumes she is drunk. As high priest, Eli is responsible, at least in part, for making sure that conduct in this sacred place before the Lord is appropriate and respectful. Eli confronts Hannah, asking her how long she will keep being drunk. He doesn't tell her to leave the temple, but he does tell her to put her wine away from her. In other words, he says it's time for her to quit drinking and sober up.

Hannah reveals what is really going on in the following verses (1 Samuel 1:15–16).

First Samuel 1:1–20 describes how Samuel the prophet came to be born. His mother Hannah was barren and mocked by her husband's other wife, who had many children. During a family feast at Shiloh, Hannah prayed out of her deep despair. She vowed to give her son back to God if He would allow her to conceive. Once Eli, the priest, understood that Hannah was not drunk, he told her the Lord would grant her request. Satisfied, she returned home and soon gave birth to a boy. She named him Samuel.

Elkanah lives in Ephraim with two wives. Hannah is barren, while his other wife has many children. At the annual family sacrifice and feast in Shiloh, Hannah weeps and pours out her grief before the Lord. She vows to give a son to Him for lifelong service if the Lord gives her a boy. After confronting Hannah for drunkenness and then seeing that she was praying from her depth of emotion, Eli the priest blesses Hannah and affirms her prayer. Elkanah and Hannah conceive, and she gives birth to a son that she names Samuel. Once he is weaned, she presents him to Eli at the temple and gives him over to the Lord as long as he lives.

First Samuel 1 begins the story of Samuel with the account of his unlikely-seeming birth. Samuel's mother Hannah is barren. During a family trip to temple of the Lord in Shiloh, she weeps bitterly before the Lord and pours out her grief. She vows to give a son back to the Lord if He will allow her to bear one. Eli the priest blesses her and affirms her prayer. Before long, Samuel is conceived and born. Once he is weaned, Hannah brings the boy and a large sacrifice to the temple. She gives Samuel over to the Lord.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.

Accessed 5/3/2024 11:17:08 AM