Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give to Peninnah his wife and all her sons and daughters portions [of the sacrificial meat].

⁵ But to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had given her no children.

⁶ [This embarrassed and grieved Hannah] and her rival provoked her greatly to vex her, because the Lord had left her childless.

⁷ So it was year after year; whenever Hannah went up to the Lord’s house, Peninnah provoked her, so she wept and did not eat.

⁸ Then Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do you cry? And why do you not eat? And why are you grieving? Am I not more to you than ten sons?

⁹ So Hannah rose after they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat beside a post of the temple (tent) of the Lord.

¹⁰ And [Hannah] was in distress of soul, praying to the Lord and weeping bitterly.

¹¹ She vowed, saying, O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid and [earnestly] remember, and not forget Your handmaid but will give me a son, I will give him to the Lord all his life; no razor shall touch his head.

¹² And as she continued praying before the Lord, Eli noticed her mouth.

¹³ Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴ Eli said to her, How long will you be intoxicated? Put wine away from you.

¹⁵ But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I was pouring out my soul before the Lord.^(A)

¹⁶ Regard not your handmaid as a wicked woman; for out of my great complaint and bitter provocation I have been speaking.

¹⁷ Then Eli said, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.

¹⁸ Hannah said, Let your handmaid find grace in your sight. So [she] went her way and ate, her countenance no longer sad.

¹⁹ The family rose early the next morning, worshiped before the Lord, and returned to their home in Ramah. Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.

²⁰ Hannah became pregnant and in due time bore a son and named him Samuel [heard of God], Because, she said, I have asked him of the Lord.

2 Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exults and triumphs in the Lord; my horn (my strength) is lifted up in the Lord. My mouth is no longer silent, for it is opened wide over my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.

² There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides You; there is no Rock like our God.

³ Talk no more so very proudly; let not arrogance go forth from your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.

⁴ The bows of the mighty are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength.

⁵ Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children languishes and is forlorn.

⁶ The Lord slays and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

⁷ The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and He lifts up.

⁸ He raises up the poor out of the dust and lifts up the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with nobles and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He has set the world upon them.

⁹ He will guard the feet of His godly ones, but the wicked shall be silenced and perish in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

¹⁰ The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them will He thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge [all peoples] to the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to ^[a]His king (King) and exalt the power of His anointed (Anointed ^[b]His Christ).^(A)

¹¹ Furthermore, every [human] priest stands [at his altar of service] ministering daily, offering the same sacrifices over and over again, which never are able to strip [from every side of us] the sins [that envelop us] and take them away—

¹² Whereas this One [Christ], after He had offered a single sacrifice for our sins [that shall avail] for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,

¹³ Then to wait until His enemies should be made a stool beneath His feet.^(A)

¹⁴ For by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy.

¹⁵ And also the Holy Spirit adds His testimony to us [in confirmation of this]. For having said,

¹⁶ This is the agreement (testament, covenant) that I will set up and conclude with them after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their hearts, and I will inscribe them on their minds (on their inmost thoughts and understanding),

¹⁷ He then goes on to say, And their sins and their lawbreaking I will remember no more.^(A)

¹⁸ Now where there is absolute remission (forgiveness and cancellation of the penalty) of these [sins and lawbreaking], there is no longer any offering made to atone for sin.

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the [Holy of] Holies [by the power and virtue] in the blood of Jesus,

²⁰ By this fresh (new) and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain (veil of the Holy of Holies), that is, through His flesh,

²¹ And since we have [such] a great and wonderful and noble Priest [Who rules] over the house of God,

²² Let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith (by ^[a]that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.

²³ So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the ^[b]hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word.

²⁴ And let us consider and give ^[c]attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities,

²⁵ Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.

13 And as [Jesus] was coming out of the temple [^[a]area], one of His disciples said to Him, Look, Teacher! Notice the sort and quality of these stones and buildings!

² And Jesus replied to him, You see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be loosened and torn down.

³ And as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple [^[b]enclosure], Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately,

⁴ Tell us when is this to take place and what will be the sign when these things, all [of them], are about to be accomplished?

⁵ And Jesus began to tell them, Be careful and watchful that no one misleads you [about it].

⁶ Many will come in [^[c]appropriating to themselves] the name [of Messiah] which belongs to Me [^[d]basing their claims on the use of My name], saying, I am [He]! And they will mislead many.

⁷ And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not get alarmed (troubled and frightened); it is necessary [that these things] take place, but the end is not yet.

⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines and calamities. This is but the beginning of the ^[e]intolerable anguish and suffering [only the first of the ^[f]birth pangs].