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.”

Abraham’s Justification by Faith

4 What then shall we say that Abraham, ^[a]our forefather ^(A)according to the flesh, has found? ² For if Abraham was justified ^[b]by works, he has something to boast about; but ^(B)not ^[c]before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? “^(C)Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” ⁴ Now to the one who ^(D)works, the wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due. ⁵ But to the one who does not work, but ^(E)believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, ⁶ just as David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁹ Is this blessing then on ^[d](I)the circumcised, or on ^[e]the uncircumcised also? For ^(J)we say, “^(K)Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” ¹⁰ How then was it credited? While he was ^[f]circumcised, or ^[g]uncircumcised? Not while ^[h]circumcised, but while ^[i]uncircumcised; ¹¹ and he ^(L)received the sign of circumcision, ^(M)a seal of the righteousness of the faith which ^[j]he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be ^(N)the father of ^(O)all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, ¹² and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which ^[k]he had while uncircumcised.

¹³ For ^(P)the promise to Abraham or to his ^[l]descendants ^(Q)that he would be heir of the world was not ^[m]through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For ^(R)if those who are ^[n]of the Law are heirs, then faith is made void and the promise is nullified; ¹⁵ for ^(S)the Law brings about wrath, but ^(T)where there is no law, there also is no violation.

¹⁶ For this reason it is ^[o]by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with ^(U)grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to ^(V)all the ^[p]descendants, not only to ^[q]those who are of the Law, but also to ^[r](W)those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is ^(X)the father of us all, ¹⁷ (as it is written: “I have made you ^(Y)a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, that is, God, ^(Z)who gives life to the dead and ^(AA)calls into being ^(AB)things that do not exist. ¹⁸ In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become ^(AC)a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “^(AD)So shall your ^[s]descendants be.” ¹⁹ Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now ^(AE)as good as dead since ^(AF)he was about a hundred years old, and ^(AG)the deadness of Sarah’s womb; ²⁰ yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, ^(AH)giving glory to God, ²¹ and ^(AI)being fully assured that ^(AJ)what God had promised, He was able also to perform. ²² Therefore ^(AK)it was also credited to him as righteousness. ²³ Now ^(AL)not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, ²⁴ but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, to us ^(AM)who believe in Him who ^(AN)raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ He who was ^(AO)delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was ^(AP)raised because of our justification.