⁴ Whenever he sacrificed, Elkanah would give parts of the sacrifice to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. ⁵ But he would give only one part of it to Hannah, though he loved her, because the Lord had kept her from conceiving.^{[a] 6} And because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving, her rival would make fun of her mercilessly, just to bother her. ⁷ So that is what took place year after year. Whenever Hannah went to the Lord’s house, Peninnah would make fun of her. Then she would cry and wouldn’t eat anything.

⁸ “Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband Elkanah would say to her. “Why won’t you eat? Why are you^[b] so sad? Aren’t I worth more to you than ten sons?”

⁹ One time, after eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah got up and presented herself before the Lord.^[c] (Now Eli the priest was sitting in the chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple.) ¹⁰ Hannah was very upset and couldn’t stop crying as she prayed to the Lord. ¹¹ Then she made this promise: “Lord of heavenly forces, just look at your servant’s pain and remember me! Don’t forget your servant! Give her a boy! Then I’ll give him to the Lord for his entire life. No razor will ever touch his head.”

¹² As she kept praying before the Lord, Eli watched her mouth. ¹³ Now Hannah was praying in her heart; her lips were moving, but her voice was silent, so Eli thought she was drunk.

¹⁴ “How long will you act like a drunk? Sober up!” Eli told her.

¹⁵ “No sir!” Hannah replied. “I’m just a very sad woman. I haven’t had any wine or beer but have been pouring out my heart to the Lord. ¹⁶ Don’t think your servant is some good-for-nothing woman. This whole time I’ve been praying out of my great worry and trouble!”

¹⁷ Eli responded, “Then go in peace. And may the God of Israel give you what you’ve asked from him.”

¹⁸ “Please think well of me, your servant,” Hannah said. Then the woman went on her way, ate some food, and wasn’t sad any longer.^[d]

¹⁹ They got up early the next morning and worshipped the Lord. Then they went back home to Ramah. Elkanah had sex with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ So in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, which means “I asked the Lord for him.”^[e]

Hannah’s song

2 Then Hannah prayed:

¹¹ Every priest stands every day serving and offering the same sacrifices over and over, sacrifices that can never take away sins. ¹² But when this priest offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right side of God. ¹³ Since then, he’s waiting until his enemies are made into a footstool for his feet, ¹⁴ because he perfected the people who are being made holy with one offering for all time.

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit affirms this when saying,

¹⁸ When there is forgiveness for these things, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Second summary of the message

¹⁹ Brothers and sisters, we have confidence that we can enter the holy of holies by means of Jesus’ blood, ²⁰ through a new and living way that he opened up for us through the curtain, which is his body, ²¹ and we have a great high priest over God’s house.

²² Therefore, let’s draw near with a genuine heart with the certainty that our faith gives us, since our hearts are sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies are washed with pure water.

²³ Let’s hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, because the one who made the promises is reliable.

²⁴ And let us consider each other carefully for the purpose of sparking love and good deeds. ²⁵ Don’t stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. Instead, encourage each other, especially as you see the day drawing near.

The temple’s fate

13 As Jesus left the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What awesome stones and buildings!”

² Jesus responded, “Do you see these enormous buildings? Not even one stone will be left upon another. All will be demolished.”

³ Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen? What sign will show that all these things are about to come to an end?”

Keep watch!

⁵ Jesus said, “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many people will come in my name, saying, ‘I’m the one!’ They will deceive many people. ⁷ When you hear of wars and reports of wars, don’t be alarmed. These things must happen, but this isn’t the end yet. ⁸ Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be earthquakes and famines in all sorts of places. These things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end.