Hannah’s Prayer of Thanksgiving
(Luke 1:46–56)

1And Anna prayed, and sayde: My hert reioyseth in the LORDE, & my horne is exalted in the LORDE. My mouth is opened wyde vpo myne enemies, for I am glad of thy saluacion.

2There is no man holy as the LORDE, for without the is nothinge, and there is no coforte like vnto oure God.

3Let go yor greate boostinge of hye thynges, let go out of youre mouth that olde byworde: for the LORDE is a God yt knoweth all thinges, & he hath set all workes in order.

4The bowe of the mightie is broken, and the weake are gyrded aboute with strength.

5They that were fylled afore, are solde for bred: and they that were hongrie, are satisfied: vntyll the baren bare seuen, and tyll she that had many childre, was become weake.

6The Lorde slayeth, and geueth life: he ledeth vnto hell, and bryngeth out agayne.

7The LORDE maketh poore and maketh riche: He bryngeth lowe and exalteth.

8He taketh vp the neady out of the dust, and lifteth vp ye poore out of the myre, that he maye set them amonge the prynces, and to let them inheret the seate of honoure: for the foundacions and corners of the worlde are the LORDES, and he hath set the compase of the earth theron.

9He shall preserue the fete of his sayntes, but ye vngodly shal be put to sylece in darcnesse. For there is no ma that can do oughte of his owne power.

10The LORDES enemies shal be put in feare before him, he shal thoder vpo the in heaue. The LORDE shall iudge the endes of the worlde, & shal geue stregth vnto his kynge, & shall exalte the horne of his anoynted.

11Elcana wente his waye to Ramath vnto his house. And the childe became the LORDES mynister before Eli the prest.

Eli’s Wicked Sons

12But Elis sonnes were the childre of Belial, and knewe not the LORDE, 13ner the dutye of the prestes vnto the people: but whan eny man wolde offre oughte, the prestes boye came, whyle the flesh was seethinge, and had a thre forked fleshoke in his hande, 14and thrust it in to the cauldron, or ketell, or panne, or pot: and loke what he drue forth with the fleshoke, that toke the prest therof. Thus dyd they vnto all Israel, which came thither vnto Silo. 15Like wyse, or euer they burned the fatt, the prestes lad came, and sayde vnto him that broughte the offerynge: Geue me the flesh, that I maye roste it for the prest, for he wyl receaue no sodden flesh of ye, but rawe. 16Yf eny man sayde then vnto him: Let the fat burne as it oughte to do this daye, and afterwarde take what thine hert desyreth, then sayde he vnto him: Thou shalt geue it me euen now: yf no, I wyll take it from the by violece. 17Therfore was the synne of ye childre very greate before the LORDE, for ye people spake euell of ye meatofferynge of ye LORDE.

18But Samuel was a mynister before the LORDE, and the childe was gyrded with an ouer body cote of lynnen. 19His mother also made him a litle cote of sylke, and broughte it vp vnto him at couenient tymes, wha she wente vp with hir husbande to offer ye offerynge in due season. 20And Eli blessed Elcana & his wife, and sayde: The LORDE geue the sede of this woman, for this good that thou hast lent vnto the LORDE. And they wete vnto their place.

21And the LORDE vysited Anna, so that she coceaued and bare thre sonnes and two doughters: but the childe Samuel grewe vp with the LORDE.

22As for Eli, he was very olde, and herde of all that his sonnes dyd vnto all Israel, and how they laye with the wemen that serued God before the dore of the tabernacle of witnesse, 23and he sayde vnto them: wherfore do ye this? For I heare of youre euell conuersacion of all this people. 24Not so my childre, this is no good reporte that I heare, ye cause the people of the LORDE to offende. 25Yf eny ma synne agaynst a man, the iudge ca redresse it. But yf eny ma synne agaynst ye LORDE, who can redresse it? Neuertheles they herkened not vnto the voyce of their father, for the LORDES wyll was to slaye them.

26But the childe Samuel wente and grewe vp, & was accepted of the LORDE & of me.

A Prophecy against the House of Eli

27There came a man of God to Eli, and sayde vnto him: Thus sayeth the LORDE: I shewed my selfe vnto thy fathers house, whan they were yet in Egipte vnder ye house of Pharao, 28and chose him there vnto my selfe before all the trybes of Israel, for the presthode, that he shulde offer vpon myne altare, and burne incense, and weere the ouerbody cote before me, and vnto thy fathers house I gaue all the offeringes of the children of Israel. 29Why layest thou thy selfe then agaynst my sacrifices and meatofferinges, which I commaunded (to offer) in the habitacion: and thou honourest thy sonnes more then me, that ye mighte fede youre selues with the firstlinges of all the meatofferynges of my people of Israel? 30Therfore sayeth the LORDE God of Israel: I haue spoken, that thy house and thy fathers house shulde walke before me for euer. But now sayeth the LORDE: That be farre fro me. But who so euer honoureth me, him wil I honor also: as for those yt despyse me, they shal not be regarded. 31Beholde, the tyme shal come, that I wyll breake thyne arme in two, and the arme of thy fathers house, so that there shal no oldeman be in thy house. 32And thou shalt se thine aduersaries in the habitacion, in all the good of Israel, and there shal neuer be olde man in thy fathers house. 33Yet wyll I not rote out euery man of the fro myne altare, but yt thyne eyes maye be consumed, & that yi soule maye be sory: & a greate multitude of thy house shal dye, whan they are come to be men. 34And this shalbe a token vnto the, that shal come vpon thy two sonnes Ophni and Phineas: They shall both dye in one daye. 35But vnto my selfe I wyll rayse vp a faithfull prest, which shal do acordinge as it is in my hert & in my soule: vnto him wyll I buylde a sure house, that he maye allwaye walke before myne anoynted. 36And who so euer remayneth of thy house, shall come and worshipe him for a syluer peny and for a pece of bred, and shall saye: I praye the leaue me to one prestes parte, that I maye eate a morsell of bred.