New International Version
1 Samuel 2:5
5Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away.
1 Samuel 2:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Those who were well fed are now starving, and those who were starving are now full. The childless woman now has seven children, and the woman with many children wastes away.
Context of 1 Samuel 2:5
3“Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. 4“The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those who were full hire themselves out for food, but those who were hungry are hungry no more. She who was barren has borne seven children, but she who has had many sons pines away. 6“The Lord brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
Read all of 1 Samuel 21 Samuel 2:5 word by word
שְׂבֵעִ֤ים בַּלֶּ֙חֶם֙ נִשְׂכָּ֔רוּ וּרְעֵבִ֖ים חָדֵ֑לּוּ עַד־עֲקָרָה֙ יָלְדָ֣ה שִׁבְעָ֔ה וְרַבַּ֥ת בָּנִ֖ים אֻמְלָֽלָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- fullשָׂבֵעַώâbêa‛ · satedH7649
- have hired outשָׂכַרώâkar sâkar · to hireH7936
- themselves for breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
- hungryרָעֵבrâ‛êb · hungryH7457
- ceasedחָדַלchâdal · to ceaseH2308
- so that the barrenעָקָר‛âqâr · barrenH6135
- hath bornיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- sevenשֶׁ֫בַעsheba‛ shib‛âh · sevenH7651
- and she that hath manyרַבrab · manyH7227
- childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- is waxed feebleאָמַל'âmal · be weakH535
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 2:5
- Psalms 34:10The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
- Luke 1:53He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
- Luke 16:25“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
- 1 Samuel 1:20So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
- Psalms 113:9He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord.
- 1 Samuel 1:6Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.
- Isaiah 54:1“Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 15:9The mother of seven will grow faint and breathe her last. Her sun will set while it is still day; she will be disgraced and humiliated. I will put the survivors to the sword before their enemies,” declares the Lord.
- Galatians 4:27For it is written: “Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child; shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 2:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5They that were full - All the things mentioned in these verses frequently happen in the course of the Divine providence; and indeed it is the particular providence of God that Hannah seems more especially to celebrate through the whole of this simple yet sublime ode.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5See an instance in 1 Samuel 2:36. See, too, in Ezekiel 13:19, another example of hire paid in bread. Ceased - i. e. were at rest, did no work. The general sense is expressed by the translation of the Latin Version, “they were filled.”Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Those who were hungry now have enough to eat (see 1 Samuel 1:7, 18). The phrase seven children poetically means that a woman without children would be blessed with a home full of children (see 1 Samuel 2:21).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. they that were hungry ceased--that is, to hunger. the barren hath born seven--that is, many children.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 2:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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