The prayer of Hannah

Hannah’s thanksgiving when she brought Samuel, the son she had prayed for, to the house of the Lord. The Orthodox sing it as the third ode at Matins.

Picture: Jan Victors, Hannah Praying in the Temple, 1643

Plain English

My heart is made strong in the Lord;my horn is lifted high in my God.My mouth is opened wide over my enemies;I rejoice in Your salvation.For none is holy like the Lord,and none is righteous like our God:none is holy but You.

Do not boast, and do not speak proud words;let no arrogant talk come out of your mouth.For the Lord is a God of knowledge,and God prepares what He means to do.The bow of the mighty has grown weak,and the weak have put on strength.Those who were full of bread are brought low,and the hungry have left the land behind;for the barren woman has borne seven,and she who had many children has grown weak.

The Lord puts to death and gives life;He brings down to the grave and brings up again.The Lord makes poor and makes rich;He brings low and He lifts up.He raises the poor from the earth,and lifts the needy from the dung heap,to seat them with the rulers of the people,and give them a throne of glory to inherit.He grants the prayer of the one who prays,and He has blessed the years of the righteous;for no man is mighty by strength.

The Lord will make His adversary weak;the Lord is holy.Let not the wise boast in their wisdom,nor the mighty boast in their might,nor the rich boast in their riches;but let the one who boasts boast in this:to understand and to know the Lord,and to do justice and righteousnessin the midst of the earth.The Lord has gone up into the heavens and has thundered;He will judge the ends of the earth.He gives strength to our kings,and will lift high the horn of His Anointed.

Traditional wording, 1844

My heart is established in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God;my mouth is enlarged over my enemies, I have rejoiced in Thy salvation.For there is none holy as the Lord, and there is none righteous as our God:there is none holy beside Thee.

Boast not, and utter not high things;let not high-sounding words come out of your mouth,for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and God prepares His own designs.The bow of the mighty has waxed feeble, and the weak have girded themselves with strength.They that were full of bread are brought low; and the hungry have forsaken the land;for the barren has born seven, and she that abounded in children has waxed feeble.

The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave, and brings up.The Lord makes poor, and makes rich; He brings low, and lifts up.He lifts up the poor from the earth, and raises the needy from the dunghill;to seat him with the princes of the people, and causing them to inherit the throne of glory:granting his petition to him that prays; and He blesses the years of the righteous,for by strength cannot man prevail.

The Lord will weaken His adversary; the Lord is holy.Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor let the mighty man boast in his strength,and let not the rich man boast in his wealth;but let him that boasts boast in this, to understand and know the Lord,and to execute judgment and justice in the midst of the earth.The Lord has gone up to the heavens, and has thundered:He will judge the extremities of the earth, and He gives strength to our kings,and will exalt the horn of His Christ.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), with Brenton’s 1844 translation beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Lancelot C. L. Brenton, The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament, 1844.

Brenton’s “his Christ” is the Greek word christos, “anointed”; the plain English says “His Anointed”.

When it is said

The Orthodox sing it at Matins, the morning service, as the third of the nine odes. These are the Bible’s songs on which the canon, a long hymn in nine parts, is built.

Its refrain is “Holy are You, O Lord, and my spirit sings to You.” A service book of 1894 gives the rule: on days that are not Sundays or feasts, the odes are read with the canons.

At home it suits any mother’s or father’s thanks for a child prayed for and given.

Where it comes from

Author known

Hannah’s story

Hannah had no children. At the house of the Lord in Shiloh she wept and prayed for a son, and vowed to give him back to God. God gave her Samuel. Once he was weaned, she brought him to the priest Eli and said: “I prayed for this boy, and the Lord has granted me what I asked.” Then she prayed this prayer.

1 Samuel 1:10-11; 1 Samuel 1:24-28

And God gave her more

Hannah sings that the barren woman “has borne seven”. Her own story goes on after the song. The Lord visited her again, and she had three more sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

1 Samuel 2:21

The third ode

The first of the nine odes is the song Moses sang after crossing the Red Sea. Hannah’s prayer is the third. G. V. Shann’s English prayer book of 1891 lists it as “The Prayer of Anna”: Anna is the Greek form of Hannah.

G. V. Shann, Euchology (1891); J. N. W. B. Robertson, The Divine Liturgies (1894); Exodus 15:1

What the words mean

Longer in the Greek

The Greek Old Testament, which the Orthodox sing, is longer here than most English Bibles. It adds three lines: let not the wise boast in wisdom, nor the mighty in might, nor the rich in riches, but in knowing the Lord. The prophet Jeremiah has the same words. Brenton’s note points there.

Lancelot C. L. Brenton, The Septuagint (1844), note on 1 Kings 2:10; Jeremiah 9:23-24

The Scripture in it

At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation. There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God. Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God Who knows, and by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble are equipped with strength. The well-fed hire themselves out for food, but the starving hunger no more. The barren woman gives birth to seven, but she who has many sons pines away. The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world. He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail. Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

1 Samuel 2:1-10 Quoted The prayer itself, in the First Book of Samuel.

This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, Who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 Quoted The lines on boasting that the Greek text adds to Hannah’s prayer.

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dump to seat them with nobles, with the princes of His people. He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother to her children. Hallelujah!

Psalm 113:7-9 Echoed The poor raised from the dust to sit with princes, and the barren woman made a joyful mother.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.

In Greek

Ἐστερέωθη ἡ καρδία μου ἐν Κυρίῳ, ὑψώθη κέρας μου ἐν Θεῷ μου, ἐπλατύνθη ἐπʼ ἐχθρούς μου τὸ στόμα μου, εὐφράνθην ἐν σωτηρίᾳ Σου. Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἅγιος ὡς Κύριος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιος ὡς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, οὐκ ἔστιν ἅγιος πλήν Σου.

Μὴ καυχᾶσθε, καὶ μὴ λαλεῖτε ὑψηλά· μὴ ἐξελθέτω μεγαλοῤῥημοσύνη ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν, ὅτι Θεὸς γνώσεων Κύριος, καὶ Θεὸς ἑτοιμάζων ἐπιτηδεύματα Αὐτοῦ. Τόξον δυνατῶν ἠσθένησε, καὶ ἀσθενοῦντες περιεζώσαντο δυνάμιν. Πλήρεις ἄρτων ἠλαττώθησαν, καὶ οἱ πεινῶντες παρῆκαν γῆν· ὅτι στεῖρα ἔτεκεν ἑπτὰ, καὶ ἡ πολλὴ ἐν τέκνοις ἠσθένησε.

Κύριος θανατοῖ καὶ ζωογονεῖ, κατάγει εἰς ᾅδου καὶ ἀνάγει. Κύριος πτωχίζει καὶ πλουτίζει, ταπεινοῖ καὶ ἀνυψοῖ. Ἀνιστᾷ ἀπὸ γῆς πένητα, καὶ ἀπὸ κοπρίας ἐγείρει πτωχὸν, καθίσαι μετὰ δυναστῶν λαοῦ, καὶ θρόνον δόξης κατακληρονομῶν αὐτοῖς, διδοὺς εὐχὴν τῷ εὐχομένῳ· καὶ εὐλόγησεν ἔτη δικαίου, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν ἰσχύϊ δυνατὸς ἀνήρ.

Κύριος ἀσθενῆ ποιήσει ἀντίδικον Αὐτοῦ, Κύριος ἅγιος· μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ φρόνιμος ἐν τῇ φρονήσει αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ δυνατὸς ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ πλούσιος ἐν τῷ πλούτῳ αὐτοῦ· ἀλλʼ ἐν τούτῳ καυχάσθω ὁ καυχώμενος, συνιεῖν καὶ γινώσκειν τὸν Κύριον, καὶ ποιεῖν κρίμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς. Κύριος ἀνέβη εἰς οὐρανοὺς, καὶ ἐβρόντησεν· Αὐτὸς κρινεῖ ἄκρα γῆς, καὶ δίδωσιν ἰσχὺν τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν ἡμῶν, καὶ ὑψώσει κέρας χριστοῦ Αὐτοῦ.

From the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), 1 Kingdoms 2:1-10, in Brenton’s edition, on eBible.org.

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