Book of Common Prayer

The Majesty of the Lord.

A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.

The Lord, a Provider and the One Who Rescues Me.

A Psalm of David, when he pretended to be insane before ^[a]Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

Elkanah and His Wives

1 Now there was a man from ^(A)Ramathaim-zophim from the ^(B)hill country of Ephraim, and his name was ^(C)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² And he had ^(D)two wives: the name of one was ^(E)Hannah and the name of the ^[a]other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

⁷ And it happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, that she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. ⁸ Then Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why is your heart sad? ^(A)Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

⁹ Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^(B)the ^[a]temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ She, ^[b]greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. ¹¹ And she ^(C)made a vow and said, “Lord of armies, if You will indeed ^(D)look on the affliction of Your bond-servant and remember me, and not forget Your bond-servant, but will give Your bond-servant a ^[c]son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and ^(E)a razor shall never come on his head.”

¹² Now it came about, as she ^[d]continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ As for Hannah, ^(F)she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were quivering, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought that she was drunk. ¹⁴ Then Eli said to her, “^(G)How long will you behave like a drunk? Get rid of your wine!” ¹⁵ But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman ^[e]despairing in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I ^(H)have poured out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not ^[f]consider your bond-servant a useless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, “^(I)Go in peace; and may the God of Israel ^(J)grant your request that you have asked of Him.” ¹⁸ She said, “^(K)Let your bond-servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way and ate, and ^(L)her face was no longer sad.

Samuel Is Born to Hannah

¹⁹ Then they got up early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in ^(M)Ramah. And Elkanah ^[g]had relations with Hannah his wife, and ^(N)the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ It came about ^[h]in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “^(O)Because I have asked for him of the Lord.”

²¹ Then the man Elkanah ^(P)went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go until the child is weaned; then I will ^(Q)bring him, so that he may appear before the Lord and ^(R)stay there for life.” ^23 (S)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do ^[i]what seems best to you. Stay until you have weaned him; only ^(T)may the Lord confirm His word.” So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, ^(U)she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull, one ephah of flour, and a jug of wine, and brought him to ^(V)the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. ²⁵ Then ^(W)they ^[j]slaughtered the bull, and ^(X)brought the boy to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “Pardon me, my lord! ^(Y)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. ^27 (Z)For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my request which I asked of Him. ^28 (AA)So I have also ^[k]dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is ^[l]dedicated to the Lord.” And ^(AB)he worshiped the Lord there.

⁹ For this reason we also, ^(A)since the day we heard about it, ^(B)have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the ^[a](C)knowledge of His will in all spiritual ^(D)wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you will ^(E)walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^[b](F)to please Him in all respects, ^(G)bearing fruit in every good work and ^[c]increasing in the ^[d]knowledge of God; ^11 (H)strengthened with all power, according to ^[e]His glorious might, ^[f]for the attaining of all perseverance and ^[g]patience; ^(I)joyously ¹² giving thanks to ^(J)the Father, who has qualified us ^[h]to share in ^(K)the inheritance of the ^[i]saints in ^(L)light.

The Incomparable Christ

^13 [j]For He rescued us from the ^[k](M)domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of ^[l](N)His beloved Son, ^14 (O)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

^15 [m]He is the ^(P)image of the ^(Q)invisible God, the ^(R)firstborn of all creation: ¹⁶ for ^[n](S)by Him all things were created, ^(T)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^(U)thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—^(V)all things have been created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He ^[o](W)is before all things, and in Him all things ^[p]hold together. ¹⁸ He is also the ^(X)head of ^(Y)the body, the church; and He is ^(Z)the beginning, ^(AA)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For ^[q]it was ^(AB)the Father’s good pleasure for all ^(AC)the ^[r]fullness to dwell in Him, ²⁰ and through Him to ^(AD)reconcile all things to Himself, ^(AE)whether things on earth or things in ^[s]heaven, having made ^(AF)peace through ^(AG)the blood of His cross.

^22 (A)And when the days for ^[a]their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “^(B)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “^(C)A pair of turtledoves or two young doves.”

²⁵ And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was ^(D)righteous and devout, ^(E)looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And ^(F)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(G)see death before he had seen the Lord’s ^[b]Christ. ²⁷ And he came ^[c]by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^[d](H)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, ²⁸ then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

³³ And His father and ^(L)mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to ^(M)His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for ^(N)the fall and ^[f]rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be ^[g]opposed— ³⁵ and a sword will pierce your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ And there was a ^(O)prophetess, ^[h]Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of ^(P)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ^[i]years ^(Q)and had lived with her husband for seven years after her ^[j]marriage, ³⁷ and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with ^(R)fasts and prayers. ³⁸ And at that very ^[k]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak about Him to all those who were ^(S)looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

³⁹ And when His parents had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^(T)their own city of Nazareth. ^40 (U)Now the Child continued to grow and to become strong, ^[l]increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.