Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Mary’s Song: The Magnificat
46 And Mary said:
“(A)My soul [a](B)exalts the Lord,
47 And (C)my spirit has rejoiced in (D)God my Savior.
48 For (E)He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant;
For behold, from now on all generations will [b]call me (F)blessed.
49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 (G)And His mercy is to generation [c]after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
51 (H)He has done [d]mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the [e]thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has (I)exalted those who were humble.
53 (J)He has filled the hungry with good things,
And sent the rich away empty-handed.
54 He has given help to His servant Israel,
[f]In remembrance of His mercy,
55 (K)Just as He spoke to our fathers,
(L)To Abraham and his [g]descendants forever.”
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 (A)Ramah. And Elkanah [a]had relations with Hannah his wife, and (B)the Lord remembered her. 20 It came about [b]in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “(C)Because I have asked for him of the Lord.”
21 Then the man Elkanah (D)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 (E)bring him, so that he may appear before the Lord and (F)stay there for life.” 23 (G)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do [c]what seems best to you. Stay until you have weaned him; only (H)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, (I)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 (J)the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. 25 Then (K)they [d]slaughtered the bull, and (L)brought the boy to Eli. 26 And she said, “Pardon me, my lord! (M)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. 27 (N)For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my request which I asked of Him. 28 (O)So I have also [e]dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is [f]dedicated to the Lord.” And (P)he worshiped the Lord there.
A Better Ministry
8 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a (A)high priest, who has taken His seat at (B)the right hand of the throne of the (C)Majesty in the heavens, 2 a (D)minister [a]in the sanctuary and [b]in the (E)true [c]tabernacle, which the Lord (F)set up, not man. 3 For every (G)high priest is appointed (H)to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. 4 Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are [d]those who (I)offer the gifts according to the Law; 5 who serve (J)a copy and (K)shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses [e]was (L)warned by God when he was about to erect the [f]tabernacle; for, “(M)See,” He says, “that you make all things by the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.” 6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is also the (N)mediator of (O)a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.
A New Covenant
7 For (P)if that first covenant had been free of fault, no [g]circumstances would have been sought for a second. 8 For in finding fault with [h]the people, He says,
“(Q)Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,
[i]When I will bring about (R)a new covenant
With the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
9 (S)Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
On the day I took them by the hand
To bring them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not continue in My covenant,
And I did not care about them, says the Lord.
10 (T)For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, declares the Lord:
[j]I will put My laws into their minds,
And write them (U)on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
11 (V)And they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen,
And each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
For (W)they will all know Me,
From [k]the least to the greatest of them.
12 (X)For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings,
(Y)And their sins I will no longer remember.”
13 [l]When He said, “(Z)A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. (AA)But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is [m]about to disappear.
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