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[1] Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart exults in Yahweh;
my strength horn is exalted in Yahweh.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in my victory.
[2] “There is no holy one like Yahweh,
no one besides you;
there is no rock like kelohenu.
[3] Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for Yahweh is el of knowledge,
[Yahweh] by him actions are weighed.
[4] The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
[5] Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
[6] Yahweh kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
[7] Yahweh makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
[8] He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh's,
and on them he has set the world.
[9] “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness;
for not by might does one prevail.
[10] Yahweh! His adversaries shall be shattered;
the most high will thunder in heaven.
Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king,
and exalt the power of his anointed.” [פ]
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This is the accompany reading that falls in the category of a “Psalm” because it is a song of Hannah. It therefore will be read aloud in unison or sung by a cantor on the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 28], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow the story of Hannah in First Samuel, which says, “Her rival [‘sister wife’ Peninnah] used to provoke [Hannah] severely, to irritate her, because Yahweh had closed [Hannah’s] womb.” This set will be read loudly in churches following the Track 1 path and precede the Epistle reading from Hebrews, where Paul wrote, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together.” All will accompany the Gospel selection from Mark, where it is written: “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”
The above translation, which the Episcopal Church says comes from the NRSV, is presented without verse numbers supplied [for whatever reason, since the NRSV supplies verse numbers]. I have placed the appropriate verse numbers in bold type, within brackets. In addition, there are nine times the proper name “Yahweh” was translated by the NRSV as “the Lord.” That is not the meaning; so, I have restored “Yahweh” in bold type. In verse three, Hannah wrote “Yahweh” twice, but the second time is changed by the NRSV to say “and by him.” This is a lie. So, I have restored the name “Yahweh” in bold type, within brackets. Next, a Hebrew word is translated as “strength,” when the word written means “horn.” I have stricken out the bad translation and replaced it with “horn.” Finally, in verses two and three are uses of “kelohenu” and “el,” both of which were translated by the NRSV as a capitalized form of “God.” That too is wrong; so, I have restored the Hebrew text as written. All will be explained in the verse-by-verse breakdown I will now add.
In verse one, I have stricken out the translation that says “strength.” I have done this because the Hebrew word written is “qeren,” transliterated in the text as “qar·nî,” with the meaning being “my horn.” While the use is acceptable as a figurative word denoting “strength,” such as a ram’s horn reflects that, one cannot think Hannah all of a sudden got big muscles because Yahweh answered her prayer and allowed her to get pregnant and deliver a son named Samuel. Thus, the word is used to denote a “horn” that is used as “an oil flask.” This means Hannah praises the fact that her soul had been anointed by Yahweh, so she became “raised up, on high, or exalted” because “Yahweh” became the possessor [“my”] of her soul, through an outpouring of His Spirit. The “strength” she needed to become pregnant was from “Yahweh.”
In the same first verse, the use of “leb,” transliterated as “lib-bi” (adding the possessive as “my” to “heart”), states the reality that this word reflects on the “inner being, mind, and will.” The “inner being” is the soul. This means Hannah pronounced: “my being rejoices Yahweh.” [Nothing is written that adds a preposition to “Yahweh,” such as “in”]. This says the presence of Yahweh with Hannah’s soul immediately became an elevation of spirit that led to singing songs of praise and thanksgiving. This explains why this song is written. The words flow forth from the “horn” of Yahweh then within her being.
When this view of “horn” is realized, then the continuation of verse one says the rejoicing of words that flow from Yahweh through Hannah come out her “mouth.” Without expressing words, Hannah’s “mouth” made a “smile.” This smile becomes an expression of happiness that cannot be removed, even when in the presence of “enemies.” It is a constant elation that is caused by the outpouring of Spirit from Yahweh, which made Hannah smile with rejoicing because she had her prayer answered by Yahweh.
The conclusion to verse one is poorly stated as “because I rejoice in my victory.” While Hannah was happy being a mother, the Hebrew states, “because I rejoice in your salvation,” where the “your” is a designation of Yahweh. The root Hebrew word for “salvation” is “yeshuah,” which should be seen as the root of Jesus’ name, with the name “Jesus” meaning “Yah[weh] Saves.” Rather than read this as Hannah flaunting her “victory” in the face of others, as “my salvation,” nah nah nah nah nah; it should be sung as her not only having conceived a male son (Samuel), but her soul had been promised salvation by the possession of Yahweh’s Son merged with her soul. This proclaims she was reborn herself, as Jesus within her soul.
Verse two is then misleading to show Hannah singing, “There is no holy one like Yahweh.” While that is a truth that can certainly be assumed, it is not what is written. The literal translation of the Hebrew says, “nothing is sacred Yahweh.” There is no comparison to be made [such as “like”]. The clear statement is “nothing is sacred” or “nothing is holy.” The name “Yahweh” is then a statement by itself of holiness. Thus, the intent and meaning is Hannah avowing that “no one is sacred” unless his or her souls have married “Yahweh.” Only by divine marriage of a soul to Yahweh’s Spirit can the holiness of Yahweh be expressed in the material realm. It says all flesh is “nothing;” and, without Yahweh married to a soul (a natural state of being from birth), this says “no one is holy.” Only a divinely led soul can emanate holiness through dead matter; and, such a soul must have come into union with Yahweh.
That is the meaning of the following words that sing, “none besides you,” which must be known that the word translated as “besides” also means “except.” Anyone who is without Yahweh is unholy and not sacred (a natural state of being from birth). This means people can dress up like priests all they want; but if their souls are not married to Yahweh, then they are “except” or “not” holy or sacred. Thus, verse two then concludes by singing that a truly sacred one becomes “a rock” of stability and certainty, when that soul has been transformed into one of Yahweh’s elohim – His angels in the flesh, or His “gods” given His powers on earth.
When verse three is shown to translate as saying, “Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth,” this hints at what Hannah actually said. The literal translation repeats the word “gə·ḇō·hāh” [root “gaboah”], which translates as “high, exalted.” This repetition is omitted by translating it as “very proudly.” The words written literally sing, “not many speak high exalted , let come no arrogance from your mouth ; for el of knowledge Yahweh , no not are measured deeds .” This says first that the vast majority of Israelites were designated as high priests, who could speak the word of Yahweh truly. Next, it says no true high priest – a Saint – will ever speak as if their egos proudly say, “I speak for God, when I say!” That arrogance is a sign of a liar. No true Saint speaks as if he or she is Yahweh, as they are all mere servants who have no “I” to be arrogant about.
This is where the use of “el” must be read in the lower case, as a “god,” not as Yahweh. If Hannah was referring to Yahweh, she would have written that proper name. The “god of knowledge” is a Saint who is one of Yahweh’s elohim, who speaks the truth that flows through his or her mouth, as a servant to Yahweh. This makes them appear to be “gods,” but they are not; and, they will not make that claim. This is why Hannah wrote a double negative – the first in brackets and the second in parentheses – saying “no not” as to this assumption that an “el” is “God.” The only measure of Yahweh is found in humans whose souls have married Yahweh, so His Spirit has them perform “deeds” that are impossible without Yahweh in their beings.
Verse four then fairly accurately sings, “The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength,” as this relates to the “no not” statement prior. It says those who pretend to be the “archers” of Yahweh, as His priests in tabernacles, they will not know the truth of Scripture. They will bend the truth to suit their feeble knowledge of divine Word, which is the only height possible to achieve, by the most advanced human brains. Those “bows” bend to the point of breaking, which is proved by their history of having said something means one thing, which then comes back as an arrow landing up their butts, proving to mean something completely different. The second half of this verse sings happily that all Scripture puts a “gird on strength,” by purposefully being written by souls married to Yahweh, so only other souls married to Yahweh will know the meaning, as “an el of knowledge.”
Verse five is misleading when shown to sing, “Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.” The literal translation sings, “satiated with bread have hired themselves out , and the hungry have ceased ; even the barren has brought forth seven , and she who has many children has become weak .” Because the story of Hannah portrays her sister wife, Peninnah, as a woman who had seven children with Elkanah, the meaning of seven goes beyond that microcosmic analysis. This verse is singing about the failure of all within the Tribes of Israel who pretend to be priests of Yahweh, when their souls refuse to marry and submit themselves to His Will.
The “full of bread” must be seen as brains that have been filled with the bread from heaven, which is the teachings of Moses. They have filled their brains with memorizations of words, while being spiritually barren of the meaning that comes from those words. Those Big Brains then make a profit from their intellectualism. Because they then teach emptiness to the children of Israel, they are no longer “hungry.” They lack hunger because of that weak sense of understanding that is taught.
Because Yahweh’s Creation was finished on the sixth day, He rested on the seventh day. This means the number seven symbolically states a time of rest has come to the Israelites, due to the weakness of the elders, unable to properly teach their children. This makes the feminine gender in “wə·rab·baṯ” – “she who has many” – reflects the wives of Yahweh [ALL souls in bodies of flesh claiming to be His children]. Those children she has given birth to in the Promised Land have become “weak” and “feeble,” completely due to them not having married their souls to Yahweh. This makes the modern lingo applied to “they who were full have hired themselves out for bread” be a perfect prophecy of the “selling of religion,” which is prevalent today; with today’s children likewise “feeble” in their faith.
Verse six is then shown to sing, “Yahweh kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.” This needs to be seen not as Yahweh “killing,” so He can raise the dead, because all human flesh is death to begin with. Yahweh breathes in spirit [“rauch”] that animates that dead flesh, bringing life to dead matter. This that Hannah sings needs to be seen as Yahweh offering souls the choice to die of self-will and self-ego, in order to be married to His Spirit [become His wife]. Such self-sacrifice then assures a soul of eternal life, beyond the term limits of a body of flesh. All flesh is death in waiting, with death a certainty that comes when the eternal soul will be released. That release is for judgment, which is what happens in “Sheol.”
It is most important to realize that an eternal soul has three options after it has been released from a body of flesh that has died and is no longer able to sustain a place for a soul to reside. All options are based on Yahweh’s judgment. The first option is reincarnation, which is a soul being recycled into a new body of flesh. This says the soul did not marry Yahweh, therefore it had too many sins to allow it to become one with Yahweh for eternity. Reincarnation implies some sense of good works done will allow the soul a ‘second chance.’ The second option is banishment into the outer darkness and into the eternal fire of punishment. This implies the soul sold itself to Satan, doing sins that harmed other souls. This becomes an eternity of unavoidable torment. The third option is then salvation, when the soul had married Yahweh prior to death AND had served Yahweh as a Saint, leading other souls to find marriage to Yahweh as their path to eternal life. That option is the reward of one’s death of self, in submission to Yahweh. In that process, the death and resurrection is mirrored in one’s transformed life in the same flesh. Hannah was one so transformed, as before she had been barren, but then she was a mother whose soul knew Yahweh.
Verse seven is then shown to sing, “Yahweh makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts.” This is a reflection of the death and rebirth that was stated in verse six. Yahweh lets one know how spiritually “poor” one’s soul is, with reincarnation being the best it can look forward to, without a spiritual transformation. A soul becomes “rich” by marriage to Yahweh and the added value His Spirit brings to a soul. One must reach the depths of human existence, which is where Hannah was when she prayed to Yahweh to listen to her plea and bargain to offer her son up as a priest of Yahweh. This song of thanksgiving says Hannah was “exalted” with her rejoicing, from having come to know Yahweh as His wife.
Verse eight is then shown to sing at first, “He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.” Here, the first segment says a soul is breathed into “dust,” which gives life to dead matter and allows it “to stand up.” The “poor” is a body of flesh with only a soul. The “ash” is then a symbolic statement about transformation, where the body of flesh has died of self [been burned to ash], so it has sought salvation through “need.” In the days when judges maintained the direction of Israel, to be “set among princes” means for Saints to be seen as the voice of Yahweh to lead the people. This makes a Saint be one “inclined” as the hand of Yahweh on the earth, such that such prophets would be recognized as being themselves the “seat of honor,” with Yahweh reigning within them as their King.
This then led Hannah to write, “For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh's, and on them he has set the world.” This says those who serve Yahweh are his “pillars,” which means they are freestanding supports that connect heaven to the earth. In the story of Boaz and Ruth, the name “Boaz” means “Strength,” such that one of the two “pillars” outside the Temple of Jerusalem was named "Boaz." Neither of those two pillars supported any physical structure above; but the pillar to the left was named “Boaz.” This is how the words of Hannah should be read. A Saint or Prophet is that support on earth that upholds the Word of Yahweh for all to see. Each should aspire to become one of Yahweh’s “pillars.”
Verse nine is then shown to sing, “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness; for not by might does one prevail.” In this is found a similarity to verse three’s presentation of “no not,” with the use of brackets and parentheses. Here, that translated as “faithful ones” is written “[ḥă·sî·ḏōw] (ḥă·sî·ḏāw),” with the repetition being of Yahweh’s “saints,” of his “pious, or kind” ones. The brackets and parentheses are marking unseen proof to these states of being. This becomes how a “Saint” cannot be determined by looks or appearances. Everything is unseen, as the brackets and parentheses indicate as asides or unspoken words.
These become “the feet” of Yahweh, as His pillars set upon the ground. They are placed on the earth as His guards of His Will. They do not need to be “guarded,” but the “wicked” do. The pillars of Yahweh on earth are sent to guard the children of Yahweh from being tricked by Satan to do evil deeds. Those are the deeds that come from “darkness,” which leads souls to eternal banishment from Yahweh. This leads to the final segment of this verse, which literally sings, “for no strength shall prevail man.” This says no “man” is capable alone to resist the influenced of Satan, thus not be tricked into wicked ways. Only when one’s soul has married Yahweh, so oneself has the strength of being a pillar of Yahweh on earth, can one resist the temptation of Satan and make his whispers become silent.
Verse ten is then shown to sing, “Yahweh! His adversaries shall be shattered; the most high will thunder in heaven. Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his anointed.” In this verse are more words presented in repetition, again placed within brackets and parentheses. The words repeated are “[mə·rî·ḇōw] (mə·rî·ḇāw)” and “[‘ā·lōw] (‘ā·lāw),” which draw from “rib” and “al” respectively. Those two words mean: “to strive, contend” and “upon, over, above.” This reflects a silent statement, which has been shown to be “His adversaries shall be shattered:’ but a better way of understanding this is as “those who shall contend against that from above.” These silent words follow the beginning words that loudly sing, “Yahweh shall descend.” The result will be the sound of thunder.
This verse of Hannah should be seen as similar to the words of John, who spoke of the voice of Yahweh that were heard by some, but not all. Those who could not hear the voice of Yahweh clearly said they heard thunder in the distance. That says they were not souls married to Yahweh, based on what Hannah wrote here. The meaning should be seen as a statement that when Yahweh descends to the worldly plane, His servants will clearly hear His voice of direction. Those directions will be to avoid or overcome those who contend against the truth of Yahweh, disbelieving in His presence over the people. This ability to hear and respond to that heard will then be how souls will be judged.
When Hannah wrote, “he will give strength to his king,” it should be remembered that Israel was not led by royalty at that time. We need to recall the name Elimelech means “An elohim whose King is Yahweh” [“God Is My King”]. This makes Hannah be saying the “king” of all who submit in marriage to Yahweh are those soul in submission to Yahweh as King. This is why Yahweh would tell Samuel, when he said the elders want a king to be like other nations, “I am their King.” One is not Israel [one “Who Retains Yahweh as one of His elohim”] if Yahweh is not one’s King. The strength of Yahweh is how one resists all temptations to sin and thus gains eternal life through salvation.
When Hannah’s song ends with the segment of words that have been translated as singing, “exalt the power of his anointed,” this is why I have stricken out “strength” in verse one and replaced it with “horn.” In these words is repeated the word “horn” – as “and exalt the horn of his anointed.” Again, the Hebrew word “qeren” is repeated and again it means a horn that is “used as an oil flask.” Here, it is most important to realized that one “anointed” by the “horn” of Yahweh becomes like David, and like all Saints who are souls married to Yahweh. It means His Spirit has been poured out upon those souls forever, which makes them be “Messiahs” or “Christs.” This song is a statement that Hannah was likewise a Christ of Yahweh, as Yahweh is the one who determines who His wives will be. Yahweh is able to Anoint the whole world, if the whole world were to submit to His Will.
As the accompanying song of praise to the First Samuel story of Hannah giving birth to Samuel, after having been barren, will be sung on the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost. That is when one’s own personal ministry for Yahweh should already be well underway and easily understood as one’s own song of praise to Yahweh. The lesson that must be clear here is to be one of Yahweh’s Anointed, as a Christ, who is Jesus reborn. The warning is the world is led by those full of intelligence, which goes in one ear and out the other of the children listening to adult praise themselves and not Yahweh. This lack demands those like Hannah step forward and pray to things to change. The world is barren of spiritual food; and, it can only be revitalized by the presence of Yahweh in His wives on earth.