Philistines Take the Ark in Victory

4 So the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle, and they camped beside ^(A)Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped in ^(B)Aphek. ² Then the Philistines drew up in battle formation to meet Israel. When the battle ^[a]spread, Israel was ^[b]defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. ³ When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “^(C)Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? ^(D)Let’s take the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, so that He may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people sent men to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord of armies ^(E)who is enthroned above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵ And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord was coming into the camp, ^(F)all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. ⁶ And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. ⁷ So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “^(G)Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ^9 (H)Take courage and be men, Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, ^(I)as they have been slaves to you; so be men and fight!”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought and ^(J)Israel was defeated, and ^(K)every man fled to his tent; and the defeat was very great, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. ¹¹ Moreover, the ark of God was taken; and ^(L)the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹² Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with ^(M)his clothes torn, and ^[c]dust on his head. ¹³ When he came, behold, ^(N)Eli was sitting on his seat ^[d]by the road keeping watch, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. And the man came to give a report in the city, and all the city cried out. ¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and ^(O)his eyes were ^[e]fixed and he could not see. ¹⁶ The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “^(P)How are things, my son?” ¹⁷ Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great defeat among the people, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas are also dead; and the ark of God has been taken.” ¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, ^[f](Q)Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for ^[g]he was old and heavy. And so he judged Israel for forty years.

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, because her pains came upon her. ²⁰ And about the time of her death the women who were standing by her said to her, “^(R)Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. ²¹ And she named the boy ^[h]Ichabod, saying, “^(S)The glory has departed from Israel,” because ^(T)the ark of God had been taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² So she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been taken.”

Deliverance from Bondage

8 Therefore there is now no ^(A)condemnation at all for those who are ^(B)in ^(C)Christ Jesus. ² For ^(D)the law of the Spirit of life ^[a]in ^(E)Christ Jesus ^(F)has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³ For ^(G)what the Law could not do, ^[b](H)weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in ^(I)the likeness of ^[c]sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ so that the ^(J)requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who ^(K)do not walk ^[d]according to the flesh but ^[e]according to the Spirit. ⁵ For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on ^(L)the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, ^(M)the things of the Spirit. ^6 (N)For the mind ^[f]set on the flesh is ^(O)death, but the mind ^[g]set on the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷ because the mind ^[h]set on the flesh is ^(P)hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, ⁸ and those who are ^(Q)in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ However, you are not ^(R)in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God ^(S)dwells in you. But ^(T)if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. ^10 (U)If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is ^[i]alive because of righteousness. ¹¹ But if the Spirit of Him who ^(V)raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, ^(W)He who raised ^(X)Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ^[j]through His Spirit who dwells in you.

¹² So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³ for ^(Y)if you are living in accord with the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are ^(Z)putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are ^(AA)being led by the Spirit of God, these are ^(AB)sons and daughters of God. ¹⁵ For you ^(AC)have not received a spirit of slavery ^[k]leading to fear again, but you ^(AD)have received ^[l]a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “^(AE)Abba! ^[m]Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself ^(AF)testifies with our spirit that we are ^(AG)children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, ^(AH)heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, ^(AI)if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Israel Saved from the Philistines

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

³ Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “^(B)If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then ^(C)remove the foreign gods and the ^(D)Ashtaroth from among you, and ^(E)direct your hearts to the Lord and ^(F)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 ^(G)Mizpah and ^(H)I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and ^(I)poured it out before the Lord, and ^(J)fasted on that day and said there, “^(K)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, ^(L)they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “^(M)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 ^(N)a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and ^(O)the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines advanced to battle Israel. But ^(P)the Lord thundered with a great ^[d]thunder on that day against the Philistines and ^(Q)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 ^(R)took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it ^[e]Ebenezer, saying, “^[f]So far the Lord has helped us.” ^13 (S)So the Philistines were subdued, and ^(T)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 ^[g]recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and ^(U)the Amorites.

Samuel’s Ministry

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

John the Baptist Preaches

3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ^(A)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^(B)Herod was tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, ² in the high priesthood of ^(C)Annas and ^(D)Caiaphas, ^(E)the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. ³ And he came into all ^(F)the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance ^[a]for the forgiveness of sins; ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

⁷ So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “^(K)You ^[d]offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and ^(L)do not start saying ^[e]to yourselves, ‘^(M)We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ But indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so ^(N)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “^(O)Then what are we to do?” ¹¹ And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two ^[f]tunics is to ^(P)share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.” ¹² Now even ^(Q)tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what are we to do?” ¹³ And he said to them, “^[g]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” ¹⁴ And soldiers also were questioning him, saying, “What are we to do, we as well?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone, nor ^[h](R)harass anyone, and ^(S)be content with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now while the people were in a state of expectation and they all were thinking carefully in their hearts about John, ^(T)whether he himself perhaps was the ^[i]Christ, ^16 (U)John responded to them all, saying, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but He is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you ^[j]with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His ^(V)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with ^(W)unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. ¹⁹ But when ^(X)Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him regarding ^(Y)Herodias, his brother’s wife, and regarding all the evil things which ^(Z)Herod had done, ²⁰ Herod also added this to them all: ^(AA)he locked John up in prison.

Jesus Is Baptized

^21 (AB)Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and while He was ^(AC)praying, heaven was opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven: “^(AD)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.”