Hannah’s Prayer of Thanksgiving (Luke 1:46–56)
1 UST Then Hannah prayed. She said,“In my inner being I am so happy about what you, Yahweh, have done! I am strong because I belong to you. I laugh at my enemies because I am celebrating the way that you, Yahweh, have helped me. BSB BSB: At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation.
2 UST No one else is holy as you are, Yahweh. You are the only real God. You, our God, are the only one who can protect us as if you were a huge rock that we could stand atop and be safe from danger. BSB BSB: There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
3 UST { You people who oppose God,} stop making so many boasts! Yahweh is a God who knows everything, and he will evaluate what each person does. So do not speak so arrogantly! BSB BSB: Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.
4 UST Yahweh, you destroy the weapons of mighty soldiers, but you give strength to those who totter because they are so weak. BSB BSB: The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble are equipped with strength.
5 UST Many people who previously had plenty to eat now have to work for other people to earn money to buy food, but many who were always hungry are not hungry anymore. Women who could not have any children before have now given birth to many children, but women who had many children before are not able to have any more. BSB BSB: The well-fed hire themselves out for food, but the starving hunger no more. The barren woman gives birth to seven, but she who has many sons pines away.
6 UST You, Yahweh, cause some people to die, and you cause other people to live. It seems that some people will soon go to where dead people go, but you make them healthy again. BSB BSB: The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 UST Yahweh, you cause some people to be poor, but you cause others to become rich. You humble some people, but you honor other people. BSB BSB: The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
8 UST Needy people often do not have homes, but Yahweh gives those poor people places to live in. People then treat them respectfully, and they even sit with community leaders. After all, it was Yahweh who created a place on which the world itself rests. BSB BSB: He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.
9 UST You protect from harm people who are loyal to you, but you cause wicked people to die and go to the dark place where dead people go. People do not defeat their enemies by their own strength. BSB BSB: He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
10 UST Yahweh, you will break into pieces those who fight against you. You will come powerfully to punish them. You, Yahweh, will judge people everywhere. When you choose a king for us Israelites, you will make him strong. Yes, when you have a leader anoint someone as our king, you will make him powerful.” BSB BSB: Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
11 UST After that, Elkanah and his family returned to their home in Ramah. But Samuel, who was still a little boy, stayed at the sacred tent to work with Eli the priest to help the people worship Yahweh. BSB BSB: Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy began ministering to the LORD before Eli the priest.
Eli’s Wicked Sons 12 UST Eli’ s two sons{ were priests like their father, but they} did very bad things. That was because they did not respect Yahweh. BSB BSB: Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD
13 UST This is how they treated the people. A family would bring an animal to sacrifice to Yahweh. While the people were still boiling the meat, Eli’ s sons would send one of their servants over to them. The servant would be holding a large, three- pronged fork. BSB BSB: or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling
14 UST The servant would stick the fork into whatever container the people were using to boil the meat. He would use the fork to pull out whatever meat he could. He would then take that meat back to Eli’ s sons{, even though this was more than the law said the priests could have}. That was how they treated all of the Israelites who brought animals to sacrifice at the sacred tent in Shiloh. BSB BSB: and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.
15 UST Also, before the people cut off the fat so the priests could burn it, the servant of Eli’ s sons would come over to them. The servant would tell the people who were preparing the sacrifice,“Give me some meat now to take to the priest for him to roast! He wants raw meat. He will not accept boiled meat.” BSB BSB: Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”
16 UST The people would say to the servant,“We will give you as much meat as you want, if you will only have the priests cut off the fat and burn it first.” But the servant would answer,“No, give it to me now{, before anyone has burned the fat}. If you do not give some raw meat to me, I will take some from you forcibly!” BSB BSB: And if any man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you may take whatever you want,” the servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you refuse, I will take it by force!”
17 UST Eli’ s sons were committing a very serious sin that offended Yahweh personally. They were treating very disrespectfully the offerings that people were bringing to Yahweh. BSB BSB: Thus the sin of these young men was severe in the sight of the LORD, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt.
18 UST As for Samuel, who was still a young boy, he continued to do work for Yahweh. He wore a little linen apron{ that showed he was a helper at the sacred tent}. BSB BSB: Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod.
19 UST Each year his mother made a new little robe for him. She took it to him when she went to Shiloh with her husband to offer their annual sacrifice. BSB BSB: Each year his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.
20 UST Then Eli would ask God to do good things for Elkanah and his wife. He would say to Elkanah,“I hope that Yahweh will enable your wife to give birth to other children, since she brought the child here whom she asked Yahweh to give her.” Then Elkanah and his family would return to their home. BSB BSB: And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.” Then they would go home.
21 UST And Yahweh helped Hannah to have three more sons and two daughters.{ She raised them at home,} while Samuel{ stayed in Shiloh and} grew up while doing work for Yahweh in his sacred tent. BSB BSB: So the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
22 UST Eli became very old. He heard about all the bad things that his sons were doing to the Israelite people. He heard that they were having sexual relations with the women who stayed near the sacred tent so they could help with the work there. BSB BSB: Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
23 UST He said to them,“It is terrible that you are doing such things! You are causing many people to complain to me about the wicked things you are doing. BSB BSB: “Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people.
24 UST My sons, stop it! The people who worship Yahweh have been giving me accounts of your bad behavior! BSB BSB: No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people.
25 UST Suppose one person does something wrong to another person. Then God can act as a referee between them. But suppose a person does something wrong to Yahweh. Then no one can act as a referee between him and Yahweh!” But Eli’ s sons would not stop what they were doing, even though their father had commanded them to stop. This was because Yahweh had decided that they had already done so many wicked things that they deserved to die. BSB BSB: If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to put them to death.
26 UST Samuel, however, continued to grow up, and the things that boy did pleased Yahweh and other people. BSB BSB: And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.
A Prophecy against the House of Eli 27 UST One day, a prophet came to Eli and spoke a message to him on behalf of Yahweh. He said,“‘You know that I appeared to your ancestor Aaron when your whole family were slaves of the king of Egypt. BSB BSB: Then a man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s house?
28 UST From all the tribes of the Israelite people, I chose him and his male descendants to be my priests. I appointed them to offer sacrifices on my altar, to burn incense, and to wear sacred aprons as they worked for me. I allowed them to have as their own food some of the meat from the animals that the Israelite people brought as sacrifices. BSB BSB: And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the food offerings of the Israelites.
29 UST But you and your sons are treating with great disrespect the sacrifices and offerings that I commanded the people to bring to my sacred tent! You are letting your sons do what they want instead of making sure that all of you do what I want. You have all been getting fat from eating the best parts of all the sacrifices that my Israelite people have been bringing to me!’ BSB BSB: Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all the offerings of My people Israel.’
30 UST Therefore, this is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelites worship, declares:‘I definitely promised that your family would continually serve me as priests, since you are descendants of Aaron. But now,’ he declares,‘I will certainly not allow you to continue to be priests. I will honor people who honor me, but I will disgrace people who treat me disrespectfully. BSB BSB: Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained.
31 UST Listen carefully! There will soon be a time when I will cause all the strong young men in your family and in your clan to die. The result will be that no men in your family will live long enough to become old men. BSB BSB: Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that no one in it will reach old age.
32 UST The sacred tent where you serve will experience loss and neglect, even as I do good things for the people of Israel. And I repeat that no men in your family will ever live long enough to become old men. BSB BSB: You will see distress in My dwelling place. Despite all that is good in Israel, no one in your house will ever again reach old age.
33 UST I will allow some of your descendants to survive and continue to serve at my altar. But they will be so sad about what happens to the sacred tent that their eyes will get very tired from crying. And all of your descendants will die while they are still young. BSB BSB: And every one of you that I do not cut off from My altar, I will cause your eyes to fail and your heart to grieve. All your descendants will die by the sword of men.
34 UST And your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will both die on the same day. That will prove to you that everything I have told you will happen. BSB BSB: And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.
35 UST I have chosen another man to be my priest. He is someone who will serve me faithfully. He will do everything I want. I will make sure that he has descendants who will be priests. He will continually be a helper to the king whom I will appoint. BSB BSB: Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. And I will build for him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed one for all time.
36 UST All of your descendants who remain alive will have to go to that priest and ask him to give them money and food. They will have to ask him to allow them to work with the other priests so that they can earn money to buy food.’” BSB BSB: And everyone left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a morsel of bread, pleading, “Please appoint me to some priestly office so that I can eat a piece of bread.”’”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.