The Philistines Capture the Ark

1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at ^wEbenezer, and the Philistines encamped at ^xAphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here ^yfrom Shiloh, that it¹ may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, ^zwho is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel ^agave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9 ^bTake courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews ^cas they have been to you; be men and fight.”

10 So the Philistines fought, ^dand Israel was defeated, ^eand they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 ^fAnd the ark of God was captured, ^gand the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The Death of Eli

12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, ^hwith his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, ⁱEli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old ^jand his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, ^k“How did it go, my son?” 17 He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward ^lfrom his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, ^m“Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the child ⁿIchabod, saying, ^o“The glory has departed² from Israel!” because ^pthe ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, ^pfor the ark of God has been captured.”

Abraham Justified by Faith

1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, ^tour forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but ^unot before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? ^v“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now ^wto the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but ^xbelieves in¹ him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

9 Is this blessing then only for ^athe circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? ^bFor we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 ^cHe received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was ^dto make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

The Promise Realized Through Faith

13 For ^ethe promise to Abraham and his offspring ^fthat he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 ^gFor if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For ^hthe law brings wrath, but ⁱwhere there is no law ^jthere is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, ^kin order that the promise may rest on grace and ^lbe guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, ^mwho is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, ⁿ“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, ^owho gives life to the dead and calls into existence ^pthe things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ^q“So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was ^ras good as dead (^ssince he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered ^tthe barrenness² of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that ^uGod was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But ^vthe words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us ^wwho believe in ^xhim who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 ^ywho was delivered up for our trespasses and raised ^zfor our justification.

Warning Against Going to Egypt

1 Then ^yall the commanders of the forces, and ^zJohanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of ^aHoshaiah, and all the people ^bfrom the least to the greatest, came near 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let ^cour plea for mercy come before you, and ^dpray to the Lord your God for us, for all ^ethis remnant—^fbecause we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— 3 that ^gthe Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” 4 Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and ^hwhatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. ^hI will keep nothing back from you.” 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, ⁱ“May the Lord be a true and ^jfaithful witness against us ^kif we do not act according to all the word ^lwith which the Lord your God sends you to us. 6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, ^mthat it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

7 ⁿAt the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. 8 Then he summoned ^zJohanan the son of Kareah and ^yall the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people ^bfrom the least to the greatest, 9 and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ^oto whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: 10 If you will remain in this land, ^pthen I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; ^qfor I relent of the disaster that I did to you. 11 ^rDo not fear the king of Babylon, ^rof whom you are afraid. ^sDo not fear him, declares the Lord, ^sfor I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. 12 ^tI will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. 13 ^uBut if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God 14 and saying, ‘No, ^vwe will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or ^whear the sound of the trumpet or ^xbe hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ 15 then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^yIf you set your faces to enter Egypt ^zand go to live there, 16 then the sword ^athat you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, ^band there you shall die. 17 All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have ^cno remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.

18 “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^dAs my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. ^eYou shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. 19 The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ^f‘Do not go to Egypt.’ ^gKnow for a certainty that I have warned you this day 20 that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. ^hFor you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ^h‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and ⁱwhatever the Lord our God says, declare to us and we will do it.’ 21 And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything ^jthat he sent me to tell you. 22 ^kNow therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.”

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, ^fthe servant of the Lord, ^gwho addressed the words of this ^hsong to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said: