Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Hannah’s Prayer(A)
2 And Hannah (B)prayed and said:
(C)“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
(D)My [a]horn is exalted in the Lord.
[b]I smile at my enemies,
Because I (E)rejoice in Your salvation.
2 “No(F) one is holy like the Lord,
For there is (G)none besides You,
Nor is there any (H)rock like our God.
3 “Talk no more so very proudly;
(I)Let no arrogance come from your mouth,
For the Lord is the God of (J)knowledge;
And by Him actions are weighed.
4 “The(K) bows of the mighty men are broken,
And those who stumbled are girded with strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
And the hungry have ceased to hunger.
Even (L)the barren has borne seven,
And (M)she who has many children has become feeble.
6 “The(N) Lord kills and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and brings up.
7 The Lord (O)makes poor and makes rich;
(P)He brings low and lifts up.
8 (Q)He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,
(R)To set them among princes
And make them inherit the throne of glory.
(S)“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He has set the world upon them.
9 (T)He will guard the feet of His saints,
But the (U)wicked shall be silent in darkness.
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but [a]Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her (A)and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother (B)of nations; (C)kings of peoples shall be from her.”
17 Then Abraham fell on his face (D)and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham (E)said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
19 Then God said: “No, (F)Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My (G)covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and (H)will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget (I)twelve princes, (J)and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My (K)covenant I will establish with Isaac, (L)whom Sarah shall bear to you at this (M)set time next year.” 22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
Fears for the Church
8 But then, indeed, (A)when you did not know God, (B)you served those which by nature are not gods. 9 But now (C)after you have known God, or rather are known by God, (D)how is it that you turn again to (E)the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 10 (F)You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I am afraid for you, (G)lest I have labored for you in vain.
12 Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. (H)You have not injured me at all. 13 You know that (I)because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. 14 And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me (J)as an [a]angel of God, (K)even as Christ Jesus. 15 [b]What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
17 They (L)zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them. 18 But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. 19 (M)My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, 20 I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.