The Ark Returned to Israel

6 Now the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. ² And the Philistines ^(A)called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us how we should send it to its place.”

³ So they said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it ^(B)empty; but by all means return it to Him with ^(C)a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.”

⁴ Then they said, “What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?”

They answered, ^(D)“Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of ^[a]you and on your lords. ⁵ Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ^(E)ravage the land, and you shall ^(F)give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will ^(G)lighten^[b] His hand from you, from ^(H)your gods, and from your land. ⁶ Why then do you harden your hearts ^(I)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, ^(J)did they not let the people go, that they might depart? ⁷ Now therefore, make ^(K)a new cart, take two milk cows ^(L)which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them. ⁸ Then take the ark of the Lord and set it on the cart; and put ^(M)the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go. ⁹ And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to ^(N)Beth Shemesh, then He has done ^[c]us this great evil. But if not, then ^(O)we shall know that it is 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 up their calves at home. ¹¹ And they set the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors. ¹² Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the ^(P)highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their ^(Q)wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. ¹⁴ Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the Lord. ¹⁶ So when ^(R)the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

^17 (S)These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for ^(T)Gath, one for Ekron; ¹⁸ and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the Lord, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

¹⁹ Then ^(U)He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. ^[d]He ^(V)struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.

The Ark at Kirjath Jearim

²⁰ And the men of Beth Shemesh said, ^(W)“Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?” ²¹ So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of ^(X)Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.”

Israel Defeats the Philistines

7 Then the men of ^(Y)Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of ^(Z)Abinadab on the hill, and ^(AA)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 ^(AB)return to the Lord with all your hearts, then ^(AC)put away the foreign gods and the ^(AD)Ashtoreths^[e] from among you, and ^(AE)prepare your hearts for the Lord, and ^(AF)serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the children of Israel put away the ^(AG)Baals and the ^[f]Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.

⁵ And Samuel said, ^(AH)“Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and ^(AI)I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered together at Mizpah, ^(AJ)drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they ^(AK)fasted that day, and said there, ^(AL)“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, ^(AM)“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 ^(AN)suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then ^(AO)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. ^(AP)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 ^[g]drove them back as far as below Beth Car. ¹² Then Samuel ^(AQ)took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name ^[h]Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

^13 (AR)So the Philistines were subdued, and they ^(AS)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 ^(AT)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 ^(AU)he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he ^(AV)built an altar to the Lord.

Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign

A Psalm ^(A)of Solomon.

Administering the Gift

9 Now concerning ^(A)the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; ² for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a ^(B)year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority. ^3 (C)Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; ⁴ lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this ^[a]confident boasting. ⁵ Therefore I thought it necessary to ^[b]exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a ^[c]grudging obligation.

The Cheerful Giver

^6 (D)But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows ^[d]bountifully will also reap ^[e]bountifully. ⁷ So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, ^(E)not grudgingly or of ^[f]necessity; for ^(F)God loves a cheerful giver. ^8 (G)And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. ⁹ As it is written:

¹⁰ Now ^[g]may He who ^(I)supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, ^[h]supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your ^(J)righteousness, ¹¹ while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, ^(K)which causes thanksgiving through us to God. ¹² For the administration of this service not only ^(L)supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, ¹³ while, through the proof of this ministry, they ^(M)glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal ^(N)sharing with them and all men, ¹⁴ and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding ^(O)grace of God in you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God ^(P)for His indescribable gift!