Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^(A)the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth ^(B)was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^(C)“Blessed are you among women, and ^(D)blessed is ^(E)the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^(F)my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And ^(G)blessed is she who believed that there would be^[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord ^(AE)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ And ^(AF)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother answered, “No; ^(AG)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶² And ^(AH)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³ And he asked for ^(AI)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(AJ)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. ^64 (AK)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^(AL)loosed, and he spoke, ^(AM)blessing God. ⁶⁵ And ^(AN)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^(AO)the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶ and all who heard them ^(AP)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^(AQ)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah ^(AR)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(AS)prophesied, saying,

^80 (BW)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^(BX)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Hannah's Prayer

2 And Hannah prayed and said,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home ^(T)to Ramah. ^(U)And the boy^[a] was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.

Eli's Worthless Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^(V)worthless men. ^(W)They did not know the Lord. ¹³ The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, ¹⁴ and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Moreover, ^(X)before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.” ¹⁶ And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷ Thus the sin of the young men was very great ^(Y)in the sight of the Lord, ^(Z)for the men treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.

^18 (AA)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy ^(AB)clothed with a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year ^(AC)when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children by this woman ^(AD)for the petition she asked of the Lord.” So then they would return to their home.

^21 (AE)Indeed the Lord visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. ^(AF)And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

²² Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who ^(AG)were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ²³ And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. ²⁴ No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. ²⁵ If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, ^(AH)for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the boy Samuel ^(AI)continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.

The Lord Rejects Eli's Household

²⁷ And there came ^(AJ)a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ^(AK)‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? ^28 (AL)Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, ^(AM)to wear an ephod before me? ^(AN)I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. ²⁹ Why then do you ^(AO)scorn^[b] my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ ³⁰ Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ^(AP)‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ ^(AQ)but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. ³¹ Behold, ^(AR)the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² Then ^(AS)in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, ^(AT)and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. ³³ The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his^[c] eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants^[d] of your house shall die by the sword of men.^{[e] 34 (AU)}And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die ^(AV)on the same day. ^35 (AW)And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. ^(AX)And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before ^(AY)my anointed forever. ³⁶ And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”

The Siege of Jerusalem

24 ^(A)In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (B)“Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. ³ And ^(C)utter a parable to ^(D)the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God:

⁶ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(G)Woe to the bloody city, to ^(H)the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.^{[b] 7} For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on ^(I)the bare rock; ^(J)she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust. ⁸ To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered. ⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! ^(K)I also will make the pile great. ¹⁰ Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices,^[c] and let the bones be burned up. ¹¹ Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, ^(L)that its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed. ^12 (M)She has wearied herself with toil;^[d] its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion! ¹³ On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, ^(N)you shall not be cleansed anymore till ^(O)I have satisfied my fury upon you. ^14 (P)I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; ^(Q)I will not spare; ^(R)I will not relent; ^(S)according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel's Wife Dies

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ^16 (T)“Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷ Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. ^(U)Bind on your turban, and ^(V)put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, ^(W)nor eat the bread of men.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and ^(X)at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did ^(Y)as I was commanded.

¹⁹ And ^(Z)the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” ²⁰ Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: ²¹ ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(AA)Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and ^(AB)your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²² And ^(AC)you shall do as I have done; ^(AD)you shall not cover your lips, ^(AE)nor eat the bread of men. ^23 (AF)Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but ^(AG)you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. ²⁴ Thus shall Ezekiel be to you ^(AH)a sign; ^(AI)according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then ^(AJ)you will know that I am the Lord God.’

²⁵ “As for you, ^(AK)son of man, surely on the day when I take from them ^(AL)their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul's desire, and also their sons and daughters, ^26 (AM)on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. ²⁷ On that day your mouth ^(AN)will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. ^(AO)So you will be a sign to them, and ^(AP)they will know that I am the Lord.”

Prophecy Against Egypt

29 ^(A)In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (B)“Son of man, ^(C)set your face against ^(D)Pharaoh king of Egypt, ^(E)and prophesy against him and ^(F)against all Egypt; ³ speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

⁶ Then all the inhabitants of Egypt ^(O)shall know that I am the Lord.

“Because you^[a] have been ^(P)a staff of reed to the house of Israel, ^7 (Q)when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake.^{[b] 8} Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(R)Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, ⁹ and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. ^(S)Then they will know that I am the Lord.

^(T)“Because you^[c] said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ ¹⁰ therefore, ^(U)behold, I am against you and ^(V)against your streams, and ^(W)I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, ^(X)from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. ^11 (Y)No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. ^12 (Z)And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. ^(AA)I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries.

¹³ “For thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years ^(AB)I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, ¹⁴ and ^(AC)I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to ^(AD)the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵ It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, ^(AE)and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. ¹⁶ And it shall never again be ^(AF)the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. ^(AG)Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

^17 (AH)In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ^18 (AI)“Son of man, ^(AJ)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(AK)Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; ^(AL)and he shall carry off its wealth^{[d] (AM)}and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. ^20 (AN)I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God.

²¹ “On that day ^(AO)I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and ^(AP)I will open your lips among them. ^(AQ)Then they will know that I am the Lord.”