Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Mary’s Hymn of Praise to God
46 And Mary said,
“My soul exalts the Lord,
47 and my spirit has rejoiced greatly in God my Savior,
48 because he has looked upon the humble state of his female slave,
for behold, from now on all generations will consider me blessed,
49 because the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for generation after generation
to those who fear him.
51 He has done a mighty deed with his arm;
he has dispersed the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled those who are hungry with good things,
and those who are rich he has sent away empty-handed.
54 He has helped Israel his servant,
remembering his mercy,
55 just as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”[a]
The Birth of Samuel
19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh and returned[a] to their house at Ramah. Then Elkanah had sexual relations with[b] Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her. 20 In due time,[c] Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She called his name Samuel, for she said, “I requested him from Yahweh.”
21 So the man Elkanah went up with all his household to make the annual sacrifice[d] to Yahweh and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Once the boy is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear before Yahweh; and he will remain there forever.” 23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what seems right to you;[e] stay until you wean him. Only may Yahweh fulfill his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 Then she brought him up with her when she had weaned him, along with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin[f] of wine. She brought him to the house of Yahweh at Shiloh while the boy was still young. 25 They slaughtered the bull, and they brought the boy to Eli. 26 She said, “Excuse me, my lord. As you live,[g] my lord, I am the woman who stood with you in this place to pray to Yahweh. 27 I prayed for this boy, and Yahweh has given me my request that I asked from him. 28 I in turn have lent him to Yahweh. As long as he lives[h] he is lent to Yahweh.” Then they worshiped Yahweh there.
The Mediator of a New and Better Covenant
8 Now this is the main point in what has been said: we have a high priest such as this, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord set up, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices; therefore it was[a] necessary for this one also to have something that he offers. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, because there[b] are those who offer the gifts according to the law, 5 who serve a sketch and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned when he[c] was about to complete the tabernacle, for he says, “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.”[d] 6 But now he has attained a more excellent ministry, by as much as he is also mediator of a better covenant which has been enacted upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, occasion would not have been sought for a second. 8 For in finding fault with them he says,
“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
on the day I took hold of them by my hand
to lead them out of the land of Egypt,
because they did not continue in my covenant
and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will decree with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I am putting my laws in their minds
and I will write them on their hearts,
and I will be their[e] God
and they will be my[f] people.
11 And they will not teach each one his fellow citizen
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings,
and I will not remember their sins any longer.”
13 In calling it new, he has declared the former to be old. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is near to disappearing.
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