Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Mary’s Praise
46 And Mary said:
My soul proclaims the greatness of[a] the Lord,(A)
47 and my spirit has rejoiced(B) in God my Savior,(C)
48 because He has looked with favor
on the humble condition of His slave.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,(D)
49 because the Mighty One(E)
has done great things for me,(F)
and His name(G) is holy.
50 His mercy is from generation to generation(H)
on those who fear Him.
51 He has done a mighty deed with His arm;(I)
He has scattered the proud
because of the thoughts of their hearts;
52 He has toppled the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things(J)
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
mindful of His mercy,[b]
55 just as He spoke to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his descendants[c] forever.
Samuel’s Birth and Dedication
19 The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to bow in worship before the Lord. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah.(A) Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.(B) 20 After some time,[a] Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,[b] because she said, “I requested him from the Lord.”
21 When Elkanah and all his household went up to make the annual sacrifice(C) and his vow offering to the Lord, 22 Hannah did not go and explained to her husband, “After the child is weaned, I’ll take him to appear in the Lord’s presence(D) and to stay there permanently.”(E)
23 Her husband Elkanah replied, “Do what you think is best,[c](F) and stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the Lord confirm your[d] word.”(G) So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 When she had weaned him, she took him with her to Shiloh, as well as a three-year-old bull,[e] half a bushel[f] of flour, and a jar of wine.(H) Though the boy was still young,[g] she took him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh.(I) 25 Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.
26 “Please, my lord,” she said, “as sure as you live,(J) my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this boy,(K) and since the Lord gave me what I asked Him for,(L) 28 I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.”(M) Then he[h] bowed in worship to the Lord there.[i]
A Heavenly Priesthood
8 Now the main point of what is being said is this: We have this kind of high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,(A) 2 a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that was set up by the Lord and not man.(B) 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts(C) and sacrifices; therefore it was necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if He were on earth, He wouldn’t be a priest, since there are those[a] offering the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 These serve as a copy and shadow(D) of the heavenly things, as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle. For God said, Be careful that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.(E)[b] 6 But Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree He is the mediator(F) of a better covenant,(G) which has been legally enacted on better promises.(H)
A Superior Covenant
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one. 8 But finding fault with His people,[c] He says:[d]
Look, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah—
9 not like the covenant
that I made with their ancestors
on the day I took them by their hands
to lead them out of the land of Egypt.
I disregarded them, says the Lord,
because they did not continue in My covenant.
10 But this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws into their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be My people.(I)
11 And each person will not teach his fellow citizen,[e]
and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know Me,
from the least to the greatest of them.(J)
12 For I will be merciful to their wrongdoing,
and I will never again remember their sins.[f](K)[g]
13 By saying, a new covenant, He has declared that the first is old. And what is old and aging is about to disappear.(L)
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