⁴ So all the elders^(A) of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.^{(B) 5} They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king^(C) to lead^[a](D) us, such as all the other nations^(E) have.”

⁶ But when they said, “Give us a king^(F) to lead us,” this displeased^(G) Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord told him: “Listen^(H) to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected,^(I) but they have rejected me as their king.^{(J) 8} As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking^(K) me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ⁹ Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know^(L) what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

¹⁰ Samuel told^(M) all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take^(N) your sons and make them serve^(O) with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.^(P)

¹² Some he will assign to be commanders^(A) of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your^(B) fields and vineyards^(C) and olive groves and give them to his attendants.^{(D) 15} He will take a tenth^(E) of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.

¹⁶ Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle^[a] and donkeys he will take for his own use. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer^(A) you in that day.^(B)”

¹⁹ But the people refused^(C) to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want^(D) a king^(E) over us. ²⁰ Then we will be like all the other nations,^(F) with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal^(A) and there renew the kingship.^(B)” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal^(C) and made Saul king^(D) in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking^(A) in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid^(B) from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”^(C)

¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid^(D) because I was naked;^(E) so I hid.”

¹¹ And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?^(F) Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?^(G)”

¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me^(H)—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me,^(I) and I ate.”

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

¹³ It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”^[a](A) Since we have that same spirit of^[b] faith,^(B) we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead^(C) will also raise us with Jesus^(D) and present us with you to himself.^{(E) 15} All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving^(F) to overflow to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart.^(G) Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly^(H) we are being renewed^(I) day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.^{(J) 18} So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,^(K) since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Awaiting the New Body

5 For we know that if the earthly^(L) tent^(M) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law^(A)(B)

²⁰ Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered,^(C) so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.^{(D) 21} When his family^[a] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”^(E)

²² And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem^(F) said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!^(G) By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”^(H)

²³ So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables:^(I) “How can Satan^(J) drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. ²⁷ In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.^{(K) 28} Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”^(L)

³⁰ He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

³¹ Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.^(M) Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

³³ “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”