¹³ Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their ^(A)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 ^(B)the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

^17 (C)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 ^(D)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 ^(E)He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. ^[a]He ^(F)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, ^(G)“Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?”

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,

Our Compassionate High Priest

¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great ^(A)High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, ^(B)let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For ^(C)we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but ^(D)was in all points tempted as we are, ^(E)yet without sin. ^16 (F)Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.