One Year Bible.

The Ark Returned to Israel

¹When the ark of the LORD had been in the land of the Philistines seven months, ²the Philistines summoned the priests and diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how to send it back to its place.”

³They replied, “If you return the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means return it to Him with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why His hand has not been lifted from you.”

⁴“What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines.

“Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers. ⁵Make images of your tumors and of the rats that are ravaging the land. Give glory to the God of Israel, and perhaps He will lift His hand from you and your gods and your land.

⁶Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people out so they could go on their way?

⁷Now, therefore, prepare one new cart with two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. ⁸Take the ark of the LORD, set it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to Him as a guilt offering.

Then send the ark on its way, ⁹but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.”

¹⁰So the men did as instructed. They took two milk cows, hitched them to the cart, and penned up their calves. ¹¹Then they put the ark of the LORD on the cart, along with the chest containing the gold rats and the images of the tumors.

¹²And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³Now the people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley, and when they looked up and saw the ark, they were overjoyed at the sight.

¹⁴The cart came to the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there near a large rock. The people chopped up the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. ¹⁵And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest containing the gold objects, and they placed them on the large rock. That day the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the LORD.

¹⁶And when the five rulers of the Philistines saw this, they returned to Ekron that same day.

¹⁷As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. ¹⁸The number of gold rats also corresponded to the number of Philistine cities belonging to the five rulers — the fortified cities and their outlying villages. And the large rock on which they placed the ark of the LORD stands to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh.

¹⁹But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.

²⁰The men of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom should the ark go up from here?”

²¹So they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up with you.”

Samuel Subdues the Philistines

¹Then the men of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the LORD and took it into Abinadab’s house on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to guard the ark of the LORD.

²And from that day a long time passed, twenty years in all, as the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim. And all the house of Israel mournfully sought the LORD.

³Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”

⁴So the Israelites put away the Baals and Ashtoreths and served only the LORD.

⁵Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.”

⁶When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.

⁷When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. And when the Israelites learned of this, they feared the Philistines ⁸and said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

⁹Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on behalf of Israel, and the LORD answered him. ¹⁰As the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel, Samuel was offering up the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel.

¹¹Then the men of Israel charged out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth-car.

¹²Afterward, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

¹³So the Philistines were subdued, and they stopped invading the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴The cities from Ekron to Gath, which the Philistines had taken, were restored to Israel, who also delivered the surrounding territory from the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between the Israelites and the Amorites.

¹⁵So Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶Every year he would go on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all these places. ¹⁷Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD.

Praise the LORD from the Heavens

¹Hallelujah!

Praise the LORD from the heavens;

praise Him in the highest places.

²Praise Him, all His angels;

praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.

³Praise Him, O sun and moon;

praise Him, all you shining stars.

⁴Praise Him, O highest heavens,

and you waters above the skies.

⁵Let them praise the name of the LORD,

for He gave the command and they were created.

⁶He established them forever and ever;

He issued a decree that will never pass away.

⁷Praise the LORD from the earth,

all great sea creatures and ocean depths,

⁸lightning and hail, snow and clouds,

powerful wind fulfilling His word,

⁹mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars,

¹⁰wild animals and all cattle,

crawling creatures and flying birds,

¹¹kings of the earth and all peoples,

princes and all rulers of the earth,

¹²young men and maidens,

old and young together.

¹³Let them praise the name of the LORD,

for His name alone is exalted;

His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

¹⁴He has raised up a horn for His people,

the praise of all His saints,

of Israel, a people near to Him.

Hallelujah!

Ananias and Sapphira

¹Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. ²With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land? ⁴Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

⁵On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened. ⁶Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

⁷About three hours later his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened. ⁸“Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?”

“Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”

⁹“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

¹⁰At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.

The Apostles Heal Many

¹²The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. ¹³Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them. ¹⁴Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord — large numbers of both men and women.

¹⁵As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. ¹⁶Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.

The Apostles Arrested and Freed

¹⁷Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out ¹⁸and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. ¹⁹But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying, ²⁰“Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.”

²¹At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people.

When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin— the full assembly of the elders of Israel— and sent to the jail for the apostles. ²²But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they returned with the report: ²³“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

The Apostles before the Sanhedrin

²⁴When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening. ²⁵Then someone came in and announced, “Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!”

²⁶At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles — but not by force, for fear the people would stone them. ²⁷They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them. ²⁸“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”

²⁹But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men. ³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. ³¹God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³²We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Gamaliel’s Advice

³³When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death. ³⁴But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.

³⁵“Men of Israel,” he said, “consider carefully what you are about to do to these men. ³⁶Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. ³⁷After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered.

³⁸So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail. ³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

⁴⁰At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.

⁴¹The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. ⁴²Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.