Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Hannah Gives Thanks
2 Hannah prayed [L and said; C Hannah’s prayer is similar to Psalm 113 and Mary’s song in Luke 1:46–55]:
“·The Lord has filled my heart with joy [L My heart rejoices/exults in the Lord];
·I feel very strong in the Lord [My strength/L horn is exalted/lifted up in the Lord; C a lifted horn symbolizes strength, based on an animal lifting its head triumphantly]
·I can laugh at [L My mouth mocks/derides] my enemies;
I ·am glad [rejoice/delight] because you have ·helped [saved; rescued; delivered] me!
2 “There is no one ·holy [set apart] like the Lord.
There is no ·God but [one besides] you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 “·Don’t continue bragging [Talk/Boast no more so proudly/haughtily],
·don’t speak proud words [don’t let such arrogance come out of your mouth].
The Lord is a God who ·knows everything [is wise],
and he ·judges [weighs] what people do.
4 “The bows of ·warriors [the mighty] ·break [are shattered],
but ·weak people [L those who stumbled/tottered] ·become strong [L gird on strength].
5 Those who ·once had plenty of food [were well fed] now ·must work [hire themselves out] for ·food [bread],
but people who were hungry ·are hungry no more [grow fat].
The woman who ·could not have children [was barren] now ·has [L gives birth to] seven,
but the woman who had many children now ·is sad [L wastes away; languishes].
6 “The Lord ·sends death [kills],
and he ·brings to [gives] life.
He ·sends people to the grave [brings down to Sheol; C the grave or the place of the dead],
and he raises ·them to life again [L up].
7 The Lord makes some people poor,
and others he makes rich.
He ·makes some people humble [brings low/down],
and others he ·makes great [lifts up; exalts].
8 The Lord ·raises [lifts] the poor up from the dust,
and he lifts the needy from the ·ashes [garbage heap].
He ·lets the poor sit [sets/seats the poor] with princes
and ·receive [L they inherit] a throne of honor.
“The ·foundations [pillars] of the earth belong to the Lord,
and the Lord ·set [poised] the world upon them.
9 He ·protects [L guards the feet/steps of] those who are ·loyal [faithful] to him,
but ·evil people [the wicked] will ·be silenced [disappear] in darkness.
·Power is not the key to success [L For no one succeeds/prevails by strength alone].
10 The Lord ·destroys [shatters] ·his enemies [those who oppose/fight against him];
he will thunder ·in [from] heaven against them.
The Lord will judge ·all [throughout; L the ends of] the earth.
He will give ·power [strength] to his king
and ·make his appointed king strong [L exalt the horn of his anointed/anointed one; 2:1].”
2 ·This is the family history [L These are the generations; 2:4] of Jacob:
Joseph was a young man, seventeen years old. He and his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, ·cared for [shepherded] the flocks. Joseph was a ·helper [assistant; L youth] to his brothers. Joseph gave his father bad reports about his brothers. 3 Since Joseph was born when his father Israel [C Jacob’s other name] was old, Israel loved him more than his other sons. He made Joseph a special robe with long sleeves [C traditionally a multicolored robe]. 4 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than he loved them, they hated their brother and could not speak to him ·politely [C civilly; L peacefully].
5 One time Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more. 6 Joseph said, “Listen to the dream I ·had [L dreamed]. 7 We were in the field tying ·bundles [sheaves] of wheat together. My ·bundle [sheaf] rose and stood upright, and your ·bundles [sheaves] of wheat gathered around it and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers said, “Do you really think you will be king over us? Do you truly think you will ·rule over [dominate] us?” His brothers hated him even more because of his dreams and what he had said.
9 Then Joseph had another dream, and he told his brothers about it also. He said, “Listen, I had another dream. I saw the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me.”
10 Joseph also told his father about this dream, but his father ·scolded [rebuked] him, saying, “What kind of dream is this? Do you really believe that your mother, your brothers, and I will bow down to you?” 11 Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him, but his father ·thought about what all these things could mean [L guarded/kept the report].
The Family History of Jesus(A)
1 This is the ·family history [record of the ancestors; genealogy; L book of the offspring/family; C perhaps a title for the entire book] of Jesus ·Christ [the Messiah]. ·He came from the family of David, and David came from the family of Abraham [L …the son of David, the son of Abraham; C “son” can mean descendant].
2 Abraham ·was the father of [fathered; T begot; C and so throughout the genealogy; the word can refer to more distant ancestry] Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah.
(Their mother was Tamar [Gen. 38].)
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz.
(Boaz’s mother was Rahab [Josh. 2].)
Boaz was the father of Obed.
(Obed’s mother was Ruth [Ruth 4:13–22].)
Obed was the father of Jesse.
6 Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon.
(Solomon’s mother had been Uriah’s wife [C Bathsheba; 2 Sam. 11—12].)
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.[a]
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram [C a variant spelling of Jehoram; 1 Kin. 22:50].
Joram was the ·ancestor [or father; C see v. 2] of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the ·grandfather [or father; C see v. 2] of Jeconiah [C another name for Jehoiachin; see 2 Kin. 24:6; 1 Chr. 3:16] and his brothers.
(This was at the time ·that the people were taken [L of the exile/deportation; 2 Kin. 24:8–17] to Babylon.)
12 After ·they were taken [the exile/deportation] to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the ·grandfather [or father; C see v. 2] of Zerubbabel [Ezra 2].
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of ·Akim [Achim].
·Akim [Achim] was the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph.
Joseph was the husband of Mary,
and Mary ·was the mother of [gave birth to] Jesus, who is called the ·Christ [Messiah].
17 So there were fourteen generations [L in all] from Abraham to David. And there were fourteen generations from David until the ·people were taken [exile; deportation] to Babylon. And there were fourteen generations from the time ·when the people were taken [of the exile/deportation] to Babylon until ·Christ [the Messiah] was born.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.