Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

Here is the rewritten chapter in modern English:

Elkanah was a man from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, Elihu, Tohu, and Zuph, an Ephrathite. Elkanah had two wives: Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah remained childless.

Every year, Elkanah would go up from his city to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. This is where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, served as priests. When it was time for the sacrifice, Elkanah gave portions to Peninnah and their children, but to Hannah he gave a double portion because he loved her.

But despite loving her, the Lord had closed Hannah's womb. Her rival, Peninnah, would provoke her severely year after year, causing her to weep and refuse food. Elkanah's kindness only seemed to make things worse for Hannah.

One day, as they were worshiping in Shiloh, Elkanah asked Hannah why she was crying. He told her that he was better to her than ten sons. But Hannah's heart was not comforted. She had been praying fervently to the Lord and weeping bitterly. In her distress, she made a vow: if God would look on her affliction and remember her, giving her a son, then she would dedicate him to God all his life.

As Hannah prayed, Eli the priest noticed that her lips were moving but no sound was coming out. He thought she had been drinking too much wine. But Hannah explained that she was not drunk; she was pouring out her soul before the Lord because of her sorrowful spirit.

Eli reassured her, saying, "Go in peace; may God grant you what you have asked." Hannah replied, "May your servant find favor in your sight." From that moment on, her sadness began to lift. She ate and went about her day, feeling a sense of hope.

After some time had passed, Elkanah knew his wife Hannah again, and the Lord remembered her. When the time came for her delivery, Hannah gave birth to a son and named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked him from the Lord."

A few years later, when the child was weaned, Elkanah's household went up to offer their annual sacrifice and fulfill their vows. But Hannah did not join them, saying she would wait until her child could appear before the Lord and remain there forever.

Elkanah agreed with his wife, saying, "Do what seems good to you; wait until he is weaned." And so they waited until Samuel was old enough to be taken to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. When that day arrived, Hannah took her son to Eli, bringing three bulls, a large quantity of flour, and a skin of wine as an offering.

As she presented the child to Eli, Hannah reminded him of their previous encounter, saying, "I am the woman who stood before you praying to the Lord for this child." She told Eli that God had granted her request and given her the son she had asked for.