Bible Society of South Africa
Church Lectionary

Seisoen na Pinkster: Proper 28 (33)

Eerste lesing en PsalmAlternatiewe eerste lesing en PsalmTweede lesingEvangelie

Eerste lesing en Psalm

4Each time Elkanah offered his sacrifice, he would give one share of the meat to Peninnah and one share to each of her children. 5And even though he loved Hannah very much he would give her only one share, because the LORD had kept her from having children. 6Peninnah, her rival, would torment and humiliate her, because the LORD had kept her childless. 7This went on year after year; whenever they went to the house of the LORD, Peninnah would upset Hannah so much that she would cry and refuse to eat anything. 8Her husband Elkanah would ask her, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won't you eat? Why are you always so sad? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?”

Hannah and Eli

9-10One day, after they had finished their meal in the house of the LORD at Shiloh, Hannah got up. She was deeply distressed, and she cried bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. Meanwhile, Eli the priest was sitting in his place by the door. 11Hannah made a solemn promise: “Almighty LORD, look at me, your servant! See my trouble and remember me! Don't forget me! If you give me a son, I promise that I will dedicate him to you for his whole life and that he will never have his hair cut.”

12Hannah continued to pray to the LORD for a long time, and Eli watched her lips. 13She was praying silently; her lips were moving, but she made no sound. So Eli thought that she was drunk, 14and said to her, “Stop making a drunken show of yourself! Stop your drinking and sober up!”

15“No, I'm not drunk, sir,” she answered. “I haven't been drinking! I am desperate, and I have been praying, pouring out my troubles to the LORD. 16Don't think I am a worthless woman. I have been praying like this because I'm so miserable.”

17“Go in peace,” Eli said, “and may the God of Israel give you what you have asked him for.”

18“May you always think kindly of me,” she replied. Then she went away, ate some food, and was no longer sad.

Samuel's Birth and Dedication

19The next morning Elkanah and his family got up early, and after worshipping the LORD, they went back home to Ramah. Elkanah had intercourse with his wife Hannah, and the LORD answered her prayer. 20So it was that she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, and explained, “I asked the LORD for him.”

1 Samuel 1:4-20GNBOpen in Bible reader

Hannah's Prayer

1Hannah prayed:

“The LORD has filled my heart with joy;

how happy I am because of what he has done!

I laugh at my enemies;

how joyful I am because God has helped me!

2“No one is holy like the LORD;

there is none like him,

no protector like our God.

3Stop your loud boasting;

silence your proud words.

For the LORD is a God who knows,

and he judges all that people do.

4The bows of strong soldiers are broken,

but the weak grow strong.

5The people who once were well fed

now hire themselves out to get food,

but the hungry are hungry no more.

The childless wife has borne seven children,

but the mother of many is left with none.

6The LORD kills and restores to life;

he sends people to the world of the dead

and brings them back again.

7He makes some poor and others rich;

he humbles some and makes others great.

8He lifts the poor from the dust

and raises the needy from their misery.

He makes them companions of princes

and puts them in places of honour.

The foundations of the earth belong to the LORD;

on them he has built the world.

9“He protects the lives of his faithful people,

but the wicked disappear in darkness;

a man does not triumph by his own strength.

10The LORD's enemies will be destroyed;

he will thunder against them from heaven.

The LORD will judge the whole world;

he will give power to his king,

he will make his chosen king victorious.”

1 Samuel 2:1-10GNBOpen in Bible reader
Bible Society of South Africav.4.26.9
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