New King James Version
1 Samuel 2:5
5Those 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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- 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 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“Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed. 4“The bows of the mighty men are broken, And those who stumbled are girded with strength. 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. 6“The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. 7The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.
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 young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
- Luke 1:53He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
- Luke 16:25But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
- 1 Samuel 1:20So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”
- Psalms 113:9He grants the barren woman a home, Like a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!
- 1 Samuel 1:6And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.
- Isaiah 54:1“Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 15:9“She languishes who has borne seven; She has breathed her last; Her sun has gone down While it was yet day; She has been ashamed and confounded. And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword Before their enemies,” says the Lord.
- Galatians 4:27For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries