Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Hannah's Prayer
2 And Hannah prayed and said,
(A)“My heart exults in the Lord;
(B)my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because (C)I rejoice in your salvation.
2 (D)“There is none holy like the Lord:
for there is none besides you;
there is (E)no rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4 (F)The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble bind on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
(G)The barren has borne seven,
(H)but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 (I)The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 (J)The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
(K)he brings low and he exalts.
8 (L)He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap
(M)to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
(N)For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and on them he has set the world.
9 (O)“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 (P)The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
(Q)against them he will thunder in heaven.
(R)The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king
(S)and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
The Lord Calls Samuel
3 (A)Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. (B)And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
2 At that time Eli, (C)whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 (D)The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down (E)in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel (F)at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli (G)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 (H)And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, (I)because his sons were blaspheming God,[a] (J)and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli (K)that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. (L)May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, (M)“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”
The Parable of the Tenants
12 (A)And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted (B)a vineyard (C)and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and (D)leased it to tenants and (E)went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant[a] to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 (F)And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 (G)Again (H)he sent to them another servant, and (I)they struck him on the head and (J)treated him shamefully. 5 (K)And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, (L)a beloved son. (M)Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, (N)‘This is the heir. Come, (O)let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and (P)threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? (Q)He will (R)come and destroy the tenants and (S)give the vineyard to others. 10 (T)Have you not read (U)this Scripture:
(V)“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;[b]
11 this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And (W)they were seeking to arrest him (X)but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they (Y)left him and went away.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.