Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Mary Praises God
46 Then Mary said,
“I praise the Lord with all my heart.
47 I am very happy because God is my Savior.
48 I am not important,
but he has shown his care for me, his lowly servant.
From now until the end of time,
people will remember how much God blessed me.
49 Yes, the Powerful One has done great things for me.
His name is very holy.
50 He always gives mercy
to those who worship him.
51 He reached out his arm and showed his power.
He scattered those who are proud and think great things about themselves.
52 He brought down rulers from their thrones
and raised up the humble people.
53 He filled the hungry with good things,
but he sent the rich away with nothing.
54 God has helped Israel—the people he chose to serve him.
He did not forget his promise to give us his mercy.
55 He has done what he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Elkanah’s Family Worships at Shiloh
1 There was a man named Elkanah from the Zuph family who lived in Ramah in the hill country of Ephraim. Elkanah was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph from the tribe of Ephraim.
2 Elkanah had two wives. One wife was named Hannah and the other wife was named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not.
3 Every year Elkanah left his town of Ramah and went up to Shiloh. He worshiped the Lord All-Powerful at Shiloh and offered sacrifices to the Lord there. Shiloh was where Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, served as priests of the Lord. 4 Whenever Elkanah offered his sacrifices, he always gave one share of the food to his wife Peninnah and a share of the food to each of Peninnah’s children. 5 Elkanah always gave an equal share[a] of the food to Hannah. He did this because he loved her very much, even though the Lord had not let Hannah have any children.
Peninnah Upsets Hannah
6 Peninnah always upset Hannah and made her feel bad because the Lord had not made her able to have children. 7 This happened every year when their family went to the Lord’s house at Shiloh. Peninnah would upset Hannah so much that she would begin to cry and would not eat anything. One year when this happened, 8 her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won’t you eat? Why are you so sad? You have me. Isn’t that better than having even ten sons?”
Hannah’s Prayer
9 After eating and drinking, Hannah quietly got up and went to pray to the Lord.[b] Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the door of the Lord’s Holy Building.[c] 10 Hannah was so sad that she cried the whole time she was praying to the Lord. 11 She made a special promise to God and said, “Lord All-Powerful, you can see how sad I am. Remember me. Don’t forget me. If you will give me a son, I will give him to you. He will be yours his whole life, and as a Nazirite, he will not drink wine or strong drink,[d] and no one will ever cut his hair.”
12 Hannah prayed to the Lord a long time. Eli was watching her mouth while she was praying. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart. Her lips were moving, but since she did not say the words out loud, Eli thought she was drunk. 14 He said to her, “You have had too much to drink. It is time to put away the wine.”
15 Hannah answered, “Sir, I have not drunk any wine or beer. I am deeply troubled, and I was telling the Lord about all my problems. 16 Don’t think I am a bad woman. I have been praying so long because I have so many troubles and am very sad.”
17 Eli answered, “Go in peace. May the God of Israel give you what you asked for.”
18 Hannah said, “May you be happy with me.” Then she left and ate something. She was not sad anymore.
Worship Under the Old Agreement
9 The first agreement had rules for worship and a place for worship here on earth. 2 This place was inside a tent. The first area in the tent was called the Holy Place. In the Holy Place were the lamp and the table with the special bread offered to God. 3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place. 4 In the Most Holy Place was a golden altar for burning incense. And also there was the Box of the Agreement. The Box was covered with gold. Inside this Box was a golden jar of manna and Aaron’s rod—the rod that once grew leaves. Also in the Box were the flat stones with the Ten Commandments of the old agreement on them. 5 Above the Box were the Cherub angels that showed God’s glory. These Cherub angels were over the place of mercy.[a] But we cannot say everything about this now.
6 Everything in the tent was made ready in the way I have explained. Then the priests went into the first room every day to do their worship duties. 7 But only the high priest could go into the second room, and he went in only once a year. Also, he could never enter that room without taking blood with him. He offered that blood to God for himself and for the sins the people committed without knowing they were sinning.
8 The Holy Spirit uses those two separate rooms to teach us that the way into the Most Holy Place[b] was not open while the first room was still there. 9 This is an example for us today. It shows that the gifts and sacrifices the priests offer to God are not able to make the consciences of the worshipers completely clear. 10 These gifts and sacrifices are only about food and drink and special washings. They are only rules about the body. God gave them for his people to follow until the time of his new way.
Worship Under the New Agreement
11 But Christ has already come to be the high priest. He is the high priest of the good things we now have. But Christ does not serve in a place like the tent that those other priests served in. He serves in a better place. Unlike that tent, this one is perfect. It was not made by anyone here on earth. It does not belong to this world. 12 Christ entered the Most Holy Place only one time—enough for all time. He entered the Most Holy Place by using his own blood, not the blood of goats or young bulls. He entered there and made us free from sin forever.
13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a cow were sprinkled on those who were no longer pure enough to enter the place of worship. The blood and ashes made them pure again—but only their bodies. 14 So surely the blood sacrifice of Christ can do much more. Christ offered himself through the eternal Spirit[c] as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make us completely clean from the evil we have done. It will give us clear consciences so that we can worship the living God.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International