Israel Defeats the Philistines

7 Then the men of ^(A)Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of ^(B)Abinadab on the hill, and ^(C)consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.

Samuel Judges Israel

² So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

³ Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you ^(D)return to the Lord with all your hearts, then ^(E)put away the foreign gods and the ^(F)Ashtoreths^[a] from among you, and ^(G)prepare your hearts for the Lord, and ^(H)serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the children of Israel put away the ^(I)Baals and the ^[b]Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.

⁵ And Samuel said, ^(J)“Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and ^(K)I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered together at Mizpah, ^(L)drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they ^(M)fasted that day, and said there, ^(N)“We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ So the children of Israel said to Samuel, ^(O)“Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

⁹ And Samuel took a ^(P)suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then ^(Q)Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. ^(R)But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. ¹¹ And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and ^[c]drove them back as far as below Beth Car. ¹² Then Samuel ^(S)took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name ^[d]Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

^13 (T)So the Philistines were subdued, and they ^(U)did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ And Samuel ^(V)judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. ¹⁷ But ^(W)he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he ^(X)built an altar to the Lord.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

6 What shall we say then? ^(A)Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who ^(B)died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that ^(C)as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus ^(D)were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were ^(E)buried with Him through baptism into death, that ^(F)just as Christ was raised from the dead by ^(G)the glory of the Father, ^(H)even so we also should walk in newness of life.

^5 (I)For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that ^(J)our old man was crucified with Him, that ^(K)the body of sin might be ^[a]done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For ^(L)he who has died has been ^[b]freed from sin. ⁸ Now ^(M)if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that ^(N)Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, ^(O)He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, ^(P)He lives to God. ¹¹ Likewise you also, ^[c]reckon yourselves to be ^(Q)dead indeed to sin, but ^(R)alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

^12 (S)Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. ¹³ And do not present your ^(T)members as ^[d]instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but ^(U)present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For ^(V)sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin ^(W)because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Do you not know that ^(X)to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? ¹⁷ But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart ^(Y)that form of doctrine to which you were ^[e]delivered. ¹⁸ And ^(Z)having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹ I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness ^[f]for holiness.

²⁰ For when you were ^(AA)slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ^21 (AB)What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For ^(AC)the end of those things is death. ²² But now ^(AD)having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit ^[g]to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. ²³ For ^(AE)the wages of sin is death, but ^(AF)the ^[h]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Israelites Will Be Punished in Egypt

44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at ^(A)Migdol, at ^(B)Tahpanhes, at ^(C)Noph,^[a] and in the country of ^(D)Pathros, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are ^(E)a desolation, and no one dwells in them, ³ because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went ^(F)to burn incense and to ^(G)serve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers. ⁴ However ^(H)I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!” ⁵ But they did not listen or incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods. ⁶ So My fury and My anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they ^[b]are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.’

⁷ “Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Why do you commit this great evil ^(I)against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain, ⁸ in that you ^(J)provoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to dwell, that you may cut yourselves off and be ^(K)a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? ⁹ Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁰ They have not been ^(L)humbled,^[c] to this day, nor have they ^(M)feared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers.’

¹¹ “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, ^(N)I will set My face against you for catastrophe and for ^[d]cutting off all Judah. ¹² And I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to dwell there, and ^(O)they shall all be consumed and fall in the land of Egypt. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine. They shall die, from the least to the greatest, by the sword and by famine; and ^(P)they shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach! ^13 (Q)For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ¹⁴ so that none of the remnant of Judah who have gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there shall escape or survive, lest they return to the land of Judah, to which they ^(R)desire^[e] to return and dwell. For ^(S)none shall return except those who escape.’ ”

¹⁵ Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to other gods, with all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying: ¹⁶ “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, ^(T)we will not listen to you! ¹⁷ But we will certainly do ^(U)whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the ^(V)queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of ^[f]food, were well-off, and saw no trouble. ¹⁸ But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.”

¹⁹ The women also said, ^(W)“And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands’ permission?”

²⁰ Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people—the men, the women, and all the people who had given him that answer—saying: ²¹ “The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and did it not come into His mind? ²² So the Lord could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings and because of the abominations which you committed. Therefore your land is a desolation, an astonishment, a curse, and without an inhabitant, ^(X)as it is this day. ²³ Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord or walked in His law, in His statutes or in His testimonies, ^(Y)therefore this calamity has happened to you, as at this day.”

²⁴ Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt! ²⁵ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, “We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’ ²⁶ Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, ^(Z)I have sworn by My ^(AA)great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that ^(AB)My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord God lives.” ²⁷ Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt ^(AC)shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them. ²⁸ Yet ^(AD)a small number who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs. ²⁹ And this shall be a sign to you,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that My words will surely ^(AE)stand against you for adversity.’

³⁰ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, ^(AF)I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave ^(AG)Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.’ ”

Repent or Perish

13 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had ^[a]mingled with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? ³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶ He also spoke this parable: ^(A)“A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷ Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it ^[b]use up the ground?’ ⁸ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. ^9 [c]And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can ^(B)cut it down.’ ”

A Spirit of Infirmity

¹⁰ Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. ¹¹ And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way ^[d]raise herself up. ¹² But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your ^(C)infirmity.” ^13 (D)And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

¹⁴ But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had ^(E)healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, ^(F)“There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and ^(G)not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵ The Lord then answered him and said, ^[e]“Hypocrite! ^(H)Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? ¹⁶ So ought not this woman, ^(I)being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” ¹⁷ And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were ^(J)done by Him.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(K)

^18 (L)Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a ^[f]large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven^(M)

²⁰ And again He said, “To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like ^[g]leaven, which a woman took and hid in three ^(N)measures^[h] of meal till it was all leavened.”

The Narrow Way^(O)

^22 (P)And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³ Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there ^(Q)few who are saved?”

And He said to them, ^24 (R)“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for ^(S)many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ^25 (T)When once the Master of the house has risen up and ^(U)shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ^(V)‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ^(W)‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ ²⁶ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ ^27 (X)But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. ^(Y)Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ ^28 (Z)There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, ^(AA)when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. ²⁹ They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. ^30 (AB)And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

^31 [i]On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”

³² And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day ^(AC)I shall be ^[j]perfected.’ ³³ Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem^(AD)

^34 (AE)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵ See! ^(AF)Your house is left to you desolate; and ^[k]assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ^(AG)‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”