The Ark Returned to Israel

6 Now the ark of the Lord had been in the territory of the Philistines for seven months. ² And ^(A)the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What are we to do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us ^[a]how we may send it to its place.” ³ And they said, “If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel away, ^(B)do not send it empty; but you shall certainly ^(C)return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be revealed to you why His hand does not leave you.” ⁴ Then they said, “What is to be the guilt offering that we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five gold ^(D)tumors and five gold mice ^(E)corresponding to the number of the governors of the Philistines, since one plague was on all of ^[b]you and on your governors. ⁵ So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that are ruining the land, and ^(F)you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps ^(G)He will lighten His hand from you, ^(H)your gods, and your land. ⁶ Why then do you harden your hearts ^(I)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, ^(J)did they not let ^[c]the people go, and they left? ⁷ Now then, take and ^(K)prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there ^(L)has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves back home, away from them. ⁸ Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart; and put ^(M)the articles of gold which you return to Him as ^(N)a guilt offering in a saddlebag by its side. Then send it away that it may go. ⁹ But watch: if it goes up by the way of its own territory to ^(O)Beth-shemesh, then He has done this great evil to us. But if not, then ^(P)we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰ Then the men did so: they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut in their calves at home. ¹¹ And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the saddlebag with the gold mice and the likenesses of their tumors. ¹² Now the cows went straight in the ^[d]direction of ^(Q)Beth-shemesh; they went on ^(R)the same road, bellowing as they went, and did not turn off to the right or to the left. And the governors of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth-shemesh were gathering in their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced at seeing it. ¹⁴ And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stopped there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and ^(S)offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ And ^(T)the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the saddlebag that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the Lord. ¹⁶ When the ^(U)five governors of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day.

¹⁷ Now ^(V)these are the gold tumors which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron; ¹⁸ and the gold mice, corresponding to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five governors, ^(W)both of fortified cities and of country villages. ^(X)The large ^[e]stone on which they placed the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.

^19 (Y)Now He fatally struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. ²⁰ And the men of Beth-shemesh said, “^(Z)Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom will He go up from us?” ²¹ So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of ^(AA)Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up to yourselves.”

Israel Saved from the Philistines

7 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the Lord and ^(AB)brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they ^[f]consecrated his son Eleazar to watch over the ark of the Lord. ² From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the ^[g]time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel ^[h]mourned after the Lord.

³ Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “^(AC)If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then ^(AD)remove the foreign gods and the ^(AE)Ashtaroth from among you, and ^(AF)direct your hearts to the Lord and ^(AG)serve Him alone; and He will save you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the Lord alone.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to ^(AH)Mizpah and ^(AI)I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and ^(AJ)poured it out before the Lord, and ^(AK)fasted on that day and said there, “^(AL)We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the governors of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard about it, ^(AM)they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “^(AN)Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines!” ⁹ Samuel took ^(AO)a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and ^(AP)the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines advanced to battle Israel. But ^(AQ)the Lord thundered with a great ^[i]thunder on that day against the Philistines and ^(AR)confused them, so that they were struck down before Israel. ¹¹ And the men of Israel came out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and killed them as far as below Beth-car.

¹² Then Samuel ^(AS)took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it ^[j]Ebenezer, saying, “^[k]So far the Lord has helped us.” ^13 (AT)So the Philistines were subdued, and ^(AU)they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel ^[l]recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and ^(AV)the Amorites.

Samuel’s Ministry

¹⁵ Now Samuel ^(AW)judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ And he used to go annually on a circuit to ^(AX)Bethel, ^(AY)Gilgal, and ^(AZ)Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. ¹⁷ Then he would make his return to ^(BA)Ramah, because his house was there, and there he also judged Israel; and there he ^(BB)built an altar to the Lord.

Israel Demands a King

8 Now it came about, when Samuel was old, that ^(BC)he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in ^(BD)Beersheba. ³ His sons, however, did not walk in his ways but turned aside after dishonest gain, and they ^(BE)took bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at ^(BF)Ramah; ⁵ and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now ^(BG)appoint us a king to judge us like all the nations.” ⁶ But the matter was ^[m](BH)displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And ^(BI)Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding all that they say to you, because ^(BJ)they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being King over them. ⁸ Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have abandoned Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you as well. ⁹ Now then, listen to their voice; ^(BK)however, you shall warn them strongly and tell them of ^(BL)the ^[n]practice of the king who will reign over them.”

Warning concerning a King

¹⁰ So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to ^(BM)the people who had asked him for a king. ¹¹ And he said, “^(BN)This will be the ^[o]practice of the king who will reign over you: ^(BO)he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen, and ^(BP)they will run before his chariots. ^12 (BQ)He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to ^[p]do his plowing and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will also take your daughters and use them as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ^14 (BR)He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ And he will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and his servants. ¹⁶ He will also take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and ^[q]use them for his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. ¹⁸ Then ^(BS)you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but ^(BT)the Lord will not answer you on that day.”

¹⁹ Yet the people ^(BU)refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, ^20 (BV)so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” ²¹ Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, ^(BW)he ^[r]repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. ²² And the Lord said to Samuel, “^(BX)Listen to their voice and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go, every man to his city.”

Stephen’s Defense

7 Now the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

² And ^[a]Stephen said, “Listen to me, ^(A)[b]brothers and fathers! ^(B)The God of glory ^(C)appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in ^[c]Haran, ³ and He said to him, ‘^(D)Go from your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you.’ ^4 (E)Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in ^[d]Haran. And ^(F)from there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. ⁵ But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, ^(G)He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. ⁶ But ^(H)God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and ^[e]they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years. ⁷ ‘And whatever nation to which they are enslaved I Myself will judge,’ said God, ‘and ^(I)after that they will come out and ^[f]serve Me in this place.’ ⁸ And He ^(J)gave him ^[g]the covenant of circumcision; and so ^(K)Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and ^(L)Isaac fathered Jacob, and ^(M)Jacob, the twelve ^(N)patriarchs.

⁹ “The patriarchs ^(O)became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, ¹⁰ and rescued him from all his afflictions, and ^(P)granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and his entire household.

¹¹ “Now ^(Q)a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers ^[h]could find no food. ¹² But ^(R)when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. ¹³ And on the second visit, ^(S)Joseph ^[i]made himself known to his brothers, and ^(T)Joseph’s family was revealed to Pharaoh. ¹⁴ Then ^(U)Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, ^(V)seventy-five ^[j](W)people in all. ¹⁵ And ^(X)Jacob went down to Egypt, and he and our fathers died there. ¹⁶ And they were brought back from there to ^[k](Y)Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of ^[l]Hamor in ^[m]Shechem.

¹⁷ “But as the ^(Z)time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, ^(AA)the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, ¹⁸ until ^(AB)another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. ¹⁹ It was he who ^(AC)shrewdly took advantage of our nation and mistreated our fathers in order that they would ^(AD)abandon their infants in the Nile, so that they would not survive. ²⁰ At this time ^(AE)Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father’s home. ²¹ And after he had been put outside, ^(AF)Pharaoh’s daughter ^[n]took him away and nurtured him as her own son. ²² Moses was educated in all ^(AG)the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in ^[o]speaking and action. ²³ But when he was approaching the age of forty, ^(AH)it entered his ^[p]mind to visit his countrymen, the sons of Israel. ²⁴ And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended and took vengeance for the oppressed man by fatally striking the Egyptian. ²⁵ And he thought that his brothers understood that God was granting them ^[q]deliverance ^[r]through him; but they did not understand. ^26 (AI)And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting each other, and he tried to reconcile them to peace, by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why are you injuring each other?’ ²⁷ But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘^(AJ)Who made you a ruler and judge over us? ^28 (AK)You do not intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ ²⁹ At this remark, ^(AL)Moses fled and became a stranger in the land of ^[s]Midian, where he ^(AM)fathered two sons.

³⁰ “After forty years had passed, ^(AN)an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came: ³² ‘^(AO)I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and did not dare to look closely. ^33 (AP)But the Lord said to him, ‘^[t](AQ)Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. ^34 (AR)I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them; and ^(AS)now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵ “This Moses whom they ^(AT)disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God ^[u]sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the ^[v]help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. ^36 (AU)This man led them out, performing ^(AV)wonders and ^[w]signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea, and in the ^(AW)wilderness for forty years. ³⁷ This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘^(AX)God will raise up for you a prophet ^[x]like me from your countrymen.’ ³⁸ This is the one who was in ^(AY)the ^[y]assembly in the wilderness together with ^(AZ)the angel who spoke to him at length on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received ^(BA)living ^(BB)words to pass on to you. ³⁹ Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they ^(BC)rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, ^40 (BD)saying to Aaron, ‘Make us ^[z]a god who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’ ^41 [aa]At that time ^(BE)they made a ^[ab]calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in ^(BF)the works of their hands. ⁴² But God ^(BG)turned away and gave them over to ^[ac]serve the heavenly ^[ad]lights; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘^(BH)You did not offer Me victims and sacrifices ^(BI)for forty years in the wilderness, did you, house of Israel? ^43 (BJ)You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god ^[ae]Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will deport you beyond Babylon.’

⁴⁴ “Our fathers had ^(BK)the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it ^(BL)according to the pattern which he had seen. ⁴⁵ Our fathers in turn received it, and they also ^(BM)brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the ^[af]nations that God drove out from our fathers, until the time of David. ^46 [ag](BN)David found favor in God’s sight, and ^(BO)asked that he might ^[ah]find a dwelling place for the ^[ai]house of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But it was ^(BP)Solomon who built a house for Him. ⁴⁸ However, ^(BQ)the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:

⁵¹ “You men who are ^(BT)stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. ^52 (BU)Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of ^(BV)the Righteous One, and ^(BW)you have now become betrayers and murderers of Him; ⁵³ you who received the Law as ^(BX)ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

Stephen Put to Death

⁵⁴ Now when they heard this, they were ^(BY)infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But he, being ^(BZ)full of the Holy Spirit, ^(CA)looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing ^(CB)at the right hand of God; ⁵⁶ and he said, “Behold, I see the ^(CC)heavens opened and ^(CD)the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one ^[aj]mind. ⁵⁸ When they had ^(CE)driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and ^(CF)the witnesses ^(CG)laid aside their cloaks at the feet of ^(CH)a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ They went on stoning Stephen as he ^(CI)called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ⁶⁰ Then he ^(CJ)fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, ^(CK)do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he ^[ak](CL)fell asleep.