Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Hannah’s Prayer
2 Hannah prayed out loud,
“My heart finds joy in Yahweh.
My head is lifted to Yahweh.
My mouth mocks my enemies.
I rejoice because you saved me.
2 There is no one holy like Yahweh.
There is no one but you, O Lord.
There is no Tsur like our Elohim.
3 “Do not boast
or let arrogance come out of your mouth
because Yahweh is an El of knowledge,
and he weighs our actions.
4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumble are armed with strength.
5 Those who were well-fed hire themselves out for a piece of bread,
but those who were hungry hunger no more.
Even the woman who was childless gives birth to seven children,
but the mother of many children grieves all alone.
6 “Yahweh kills, and he gives life.
He makes people go down to the grave, and he raises them up again.
7 Yahweh causes poverty and grants wealth.
He humbles people; he also promotes them.
8 He raises the poor from the dust.
He lifts the needy from the trash heap
in order to make them sit with nobles
and even to make them inherit a glorious throne.
“The pillars of the earth are Yahweh’s.
He has set the world on them.
9 He safeguards the steps of his faithful ones,
but wicked people are silenced in darkness
because humans cannot succeed by their own strength.
10 “Those who oppose Yahweh are broken into pieces.
He thunders at them from the heavens.
Yahweh judges the ends of the earth.
He gives strength to his King
and lifts the head of his Messiah.”[a]
The Lord Calls Samuel
3 The boy Samuel was serving Yahweh under Eli. In those days a prophecy from Yahweh was rare; visions were infrequent. 2 One night Eli was lying down in his room. His eyesight had begun to fail so that he couldn’t see well. 3 The lamp in Elohim’s temple[a] hadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was asleep in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of Elohim was kept.
4 Then Yahweh called Samuel. “Here I am,” Samuel responded. 5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So Samuel went back and lay down.
6 Yahweh called Samuel again. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
“I didn’t call you, son,” he responded. “Go back to bed.” 7 Samuel had no experience with Yahweh, because the word of Yahweh had not yet been revealed to him.
8 Yahweh called Samuel a third time. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
Then Eli realized that Yahweh was calling the boy. 9 “Go, lie down,” Eli told Samuel. “When he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Yahweh. I’m listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his room.
10 Yahweh came and stood there. He called as he had called the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak. I’m listening.”
11 Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “I am going to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring. 12 On that day I am going to do to Eli and his family everything I said from beginning to end. 13 I told him that I would hand down a permanent judgment against his household because he knew about his sons’ sin—that they were cursing God[b]—but he didn’t try to stop them. 14 That is why I have taken an oath concerning Eli’s family line: No offering or sacrifice will ever be able to make peace for the sins that Eli’s family committed.”
15 Samuel remained in bed until morning. Then he opened the doors of Yahweh’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.
16 Then Eli called Samuel. “Samuel, my son!” he said.
“Here I am,” he responded.
17 “What did Yahweh tell you?” he asked. “Please don’t hide anything from me. May Elohim strike you dead if you hide anything he told you from me.”
18 So Samuel told Eli everything.
Eli replied, “He is Yahweh. May he do what he thinks is right.”
A Story about a Vineyard(A)
12 Then, using this illustration, Yeshua spoke to them. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a vat for the winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip.
2 “At the right time he sent a servant to the workers to collect from them a share of the grapes from the vineyard. 3 The workers took the servant, beat him, and sent him back with nothing. 4 So the man sent another servant to them. They hit the servant on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 The man sent another, and they killed that servant. Then he sent many other servants. Some of these they beat, and others they killed.
6 “He had one more person to send. That person was his son, whom he loved. Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But those workers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the workers and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you never read the Scripture passage:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
11 The Lord has done this,
and it is amazing for us to see’?”
12 They wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd. They knew that he had directed this illustration at them. So they left him alone and went away.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.