Capture of the Ark Provokes God

5 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and ^(A)brought it from Ebenezer to ^(B)Ashdod. ² Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into ^(C)the house of Dagon, and placed it beside Dagon. ³ When the Ashdodites got up early the next day, behold, ^(D)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and ^(E)set him back in his place. ⁴ But when they got up early the next morning, behold, ^(F)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon and both palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; ^[a]only the torso of Dagon was left. ⁵ For that reason neither the priests of Dagon nor any who enter Dagon’s house ^(G)step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

⁶ Now ^(H)the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and ^(I)He made them feel devastated and struck them with ^(J)tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. ⁷ When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, because His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” ⁸ So they sent word and ^(K)gathered all the governors of the Philistines to them, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Have the ark of the God of Israel ^[b]brought to Gath.” So they took the ark of the God of Israel away. ⁹ After they had taken it away, ^(L)the hand of the Lord was against the city, creating a very great panic; and He struck the people of the city, from the young to the old, so that ^(M)tumors broke out on them. ¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to ^[c]us, to kill ^[d]us and ^[e]our people!” ¹¹ Therefore they ^(N)sent word and gathered all the governors of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its own place, so that it will not kill ^[f]us and ^[g]our people!” For there was a deadly panic throughout the city; ^(O)the hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² And the people who did not die were struck with tumors, and ^(P)the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark Returned to Israel

6 Now the ark of the Lord had been in the territory of the Philistines for seven months. ² And ^(Q)the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What are we to do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us ^[h]how we may send it to its place.” ³ And they said, “If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel away, ^(R)do not send it empty; but you shall certainly ^(S)return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be revealed to you why His hand does not leave you.” ⁴ Then they said, “What is to be the guilt offering that we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five gold ^(T)tumors and five gold mice ^(U)corresponding to the number of the governors of the Philistines, since one plague was on all of ^[i]you and on your governors. ⁵ So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that are ruining the land, and ^(V)you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps ^(W)He will lighten His hand from you, ^(X)your gods, and your land. ⁶ Why then do you harden your hearts ^(Y)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, ^(Z)did they not let ^[j]the people go, and they left? ⁷ Now then, take and ^(AA)prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there ^(AB)has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves back home, away from them. ⁸ Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart; and put ^(AC)the articles of gold which you return to Him as ^(AD)a guilt offering in a saddlebag by its side. Then send it away that it may go. ⁹ But watch: if it goes up by the way of its own territory to ^(AE)Beth-shemesh, then He has done this great evil to us. But if not, then ^(AF)we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰ Then the men did so: they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut in their calves at home. ¹¹ And they put the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the saddlebag with the gold mice and the likenesses of their tumors. ¹² Now the cows went straight in the ^[k]direction of ^(AG)Beth-shemesh; they went on ^(AH)the same road, bellowing as they went, and did not turn off to the right or to the left. And the governors of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth-shemesh were gathering in their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced at seeing it. ¹⁴ And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stopped there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and ^(AI)offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ And ^(AJ)the Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the saddlebag that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the Lord. ¹⁶ When the ^(AK)five governors of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day.

¹⁷ Now ^(AL)these are the gold tumors which the Philistines returned as a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron; ¹⁸ and the gold mice, corresponding to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five governors, ^(AM)both of fortified cities and of country villages. ^(AN)The large ^[l]stone on which they placed the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.

^19 (AO)Now He fatally struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. ²⁰ And the men of Beth-shemesh said, “^(AP)Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom will He go up from us?” ²¹ So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of ^(AQ)Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up to yourselves.”

Results of Justification

5 ^(A)Therefore, having been justified by faith, ^[a](B)we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we also have ^(C)obtained our introduction by faith into this grace ^(D)in which we stand; and ^[b]we celebrate in hope of the glory of God. ^3 (E)And not only this, but ^[c]we also ^(F)celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about ^(G)perseverance; ⁴ and ^(H)perseverance, ^(I)proven character; and proven character, hope; ⁵ and hope ^(J)does not disappoint, because the love of God has been ^(K)poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

⁶ For while we were still ^(L)helpless, ^(M)at the right time ^(N)Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous person; ^[d]though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God ^(O)demonstrates ^(P)His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, ^(Q)Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified ^[e](R)by His blood, we shall be saved ^(S)from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were ^(T)enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved ^[f](U)by His life. ^11 (V)And not only this, but ^[g]we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^(W)the reconciliation.

¹² Therefore, just as through ^(X)one man sin entered into the world, and ^(Y)death through sin, and ^(Z)so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned— ¹³ for ^[h]until the Law sin was in the world, but ^(AA)sin is not ^[i]counted against anyone when there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned ^(AB)in the likeness of the ^[j]violation committed by Adam, who is a ^[k](AC)type of Him who was to come.

¹⁵ But ^[l]the gracious gift is not like the offense. For if by the offense of ^(AD)the one ^(AE)the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by ^(AF)the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many. ¹⁶ The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand ^(AG)the judgment arose from one offense, ^[m]resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the gracious gift arose from many offenses, ^[n]resulting in justification. ¹⁷ For if by the offense of the one, death reigned ^(AH)through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness ^(AI)reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ So then, as through ^(AJ)one offense ^[o]the result was condemnation to all mankind, so also through one ^(AK)act of righteousness ^[p]the result was ^(AL)justification of life to all mankind. ¹⁹ For as through the one man’s disobedience ^(AM)the many ^(AN)were made sinners, so also through ^(AO)the obedience of the One ^(AP)the many will be made righteous. ^20 [q](AQ)The Law came in so that the offense would increase; but where sin increased, ^(AR)grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as ^(AS)sin reigned in death, so also ^(AT)grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.