¹¹ Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.

³ the hand of the Lord will strike all your livestock—your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats—with a deadly plague.

³¹ It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³⁹ Then Jesus told him,^[a] “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see^[b] that they are blind.”

¹¹ The people summoned the Philistine rulers again and begged them, “Please send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own country, or it^[a] will kill us all.” For the deadly plague from God had already begun, and great fear was sweeping across the town.

¹⁷ These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness.

God’s Mercy Is for Everyone

²⁵ I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.

⁷ So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. ⁸ As the Scriptures say,

⁹ Likewise, David said,