4 ¹ And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

The Ark of God Captured

In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel,^[a] and Israel went out to battle against them;^[b] they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek.^{(A) 2} The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was joined,^[c] Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. ³ When the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.”^{(B) 4} So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.^(C)

⁵ When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.^{(D) 6} When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp,^{(E) 7} the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “Gods have^[d] come into the camp.” They also said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. ⁹ Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, in order not to become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”^(F)

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and they fled, everyone to his home. There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.^{(G) 11} The ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.^(H)

Death of Eli

¹² A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with earth upon his head.^{(I) 13} When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out.^{(J) 14} When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man came quickly and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were set, so that he could not see.^{(K) 16} The man said to Eli, “I have just come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” He said, “How did it go, my son?”^{(L) 17} The messenger replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter^[e] among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” ¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli^[f] fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.^(M)

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her labor pains overwhelmed her. ²⁰ As she was about to die, the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or give heed.^{(N) 21} She named the child Ichabod, meaning, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”^(O)

Life in the Spirit

8 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.^{(A) 2} For the law of the Spirit^[a] of life in Christ Jesus has set you^[b] free from the law of sin and of death.^{(B) 3} For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and to deal with sin,^[c] he condemned sin in the flesh,^{(C) 4} so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.^{[d](D) 5} For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit^[e] set their minds on the things of the Spirit.^{[f](E) 6} To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit^[g] is life and peace.^{(F) 7} For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot,^{(G) 8} and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit,^[h] since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.^{(H) 10} But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit^[i] is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus^[j] from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through^[k] his Spirit that dwells in you.^(I)

¹² So then, brothers and sisters, we are obligated, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³ for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.^{(J) 14} For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.^{(K) 15} For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba!^[l] Father!”^{(L) 16} it is that very Spirit bearing witness^[m] with our spirit that we are children of God,^{(M) 17} and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.^(N)

7 ¹ And the people of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. They consecrated his son, Eleazar, to have charge of the ark of the Lord.^(A)

² From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented^[a] after the Lord.

Samuel as Judge

³ Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”^{(B) 4} So Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”^{(C) 6} So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day and said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.^(D)

⁷ When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.^{(E) 8} The Israelites said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, and pray that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”^{(F) 9} So Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.^{(G) 10} As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel, but the Lord thundered with a mighty voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were routed before Israel.^{(H) 11} And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as beyond Beth-car.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah^[b] and named it Ebenezer,^[c] for he said, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”^{(I) 13} So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel; the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.^{(J) 14} The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.^{(K) 16} He went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. ¹⁷ Then he would come back to Ramah, for his home was there; he administered justice there to Israel and built there an altar to the Lord.^(L)

The Proclamation of John the Baptist

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,^{(A) 2} during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.^{(B) 3} He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

⁷ John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?^{(E) 8} Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.^{(F) 9} Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”^(G)

¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?”^{(H) 11} In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.”^{(I) 12} Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”^{(J) 13} He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”^{(K) 14} Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”^(L)

¹⁵ As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,^{[a](M) 16} John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with^[b] the Holy Spirit and fire.^{(N) 17} His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”^(O)

¹⁸ So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people. ¹⁹ But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done,^{(P) 20} added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,^{(Q) 22} and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;^[c] with you I am well pleased.”^[d](R)