Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Mary Praises God

⁴⁶ Then Mary said,

Samuel’s Birth

1 There was a man named Elkanah son of Jeroham from Ramathaim in the mountains of Ephraim. Elkanah was from the family of Zuph. (Jeroham was Elihu’s son. Elihu was Tohu’s son, and Tohu was the son of Zuph from the family group of Ephraim.) ² Elkanah had two wives named Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

³ Every year Elkanah left his town of Ramah and went up to Shiloh to worship the Lord All-Powerful and to offer sacrifices to him. Shiloh was where Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, served as priests of the Lord. ⁴ When Elkanah offered sacrifices, he always gave a share of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to her sons and daughters. ⁵ But Elkanah always gave a special share of the meat to Hannah, because he loved Hannah and because the Lord had kept her from having children. ⁶ Peninnah would tease Hannah and upset her, because the Lord had made her unable to have children. ⁷ This happened every year when they went up to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. Peninnah would upset Hannah until Hannah would cry and not eat anything. ⁸ Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you crying and why won’t you eat? Why are you sad? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ Once, after they had eaten their meal in Shiloh, Hannah got up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the entrance to the Lord’s house. ¹⁰ Hannah was so sad that she cried and prayed to the Lord. ¹¹ She made a promise, saying, “Lord All-Powerful, see how sad I am. Remember me and don’t forget me. If you will give me a son, I will give him back to you all his life, and no one will ever cut his hair with a razor.”^[a]

¹² While Hannah kept praying, Eli watched her mouth. ¹³ She was praying in her heart so her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴ and said to her, “Stop getting drunk! Throw away your wine!”

¹⁵ Hannah answered, “No, sir, I have not drunk any wine or beer. I am a deeply troubled woman, and I was telling the Lord about all my problems. ¹⁶ Don’t think I am an evil woman. I have been praying because I have many troubles and am very sad.”

¹⁷ Eli answered, “Go! I wish you well. May the God of Israel give you what you asked of him.”

¹⁸ Hannah said, “May I always please you.” When she left and ate something, she was not sad anymore.

The Old Agreement

9 The first agreement^[a] had rules for worship and a place on earth for worship. ² The Holy Tent was set up for this. The first area in the Tent was called the Holy Place. In it were the lamp and the table with the bread that was made holy for God. ³ Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place. ⁴ In it was a golden altar for burning incense and the Ark covered with gold that held the old agreement. Inside this Ark was a golden jar of manna, Aaron’s rod that once grew leaves, and the stone tablets of the old agreement. ⁵ Above the Ark were the creatures that showed God’s glory, whose wings reached over the lid. But we cannot tell everything about these things now.

⁶ When everything in the Tent was made ready in this way, the priests went into the first room every day to worship. ⁷ But only the high priest could go into the second room, and he did that only once a year. He could never enter the inner room without taking blood with him, which he offered to God for himself and for sins the people did without knowing they did them. ⁸ The Holy Spirit uses this to show that the way into the Most Holy Place was not open while the system of the old Holy Tent was still being used. ⁹ This is an example for the present time. It shows that the gifts and sacrifices offered cannot make the conscience of the worshiper perfect. ¹⁰ These gifts and sacrifices were only about food and drink and special washings. They were rules for the body, to be followed until the time of God’s new way.

The New Agreement

¹¹ But when Christ came as the high priest of the good things we now have,^[b] he entered the greater and more perfect tent. It is not made by humans and does not belong to this world. ¹² Christ entered the Most Holy Place only once—and for all time. He did not take with him the blood of goats and calves. His sacrifice was his own blood, and by it he set us free from sin forever. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a cow are sprinkled on the people who are unclean, and this makes their bodies clean again. ¹⁴ How much more is done by the blood of Christ. He offered himself through the eternal Spirit^[c] as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make our consciences pure from useless acts so we may serve the living God.