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4¹And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

The Ark of God Captured

In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel,^* and Israel went out to battle against them;^* they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. ²The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was joined,^* Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. ³When the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, ‘Why has the Lord put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.’ ⁴So the people sent to Shiloh, and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. ⁶When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, ‘What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?’ When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, ⁷the Philistines were afraid; for they said, ‘Gods have^* come into the camp.’ They also said, ‘Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. ⁸Woe 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. ⁹Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, in order not to become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.’

10 So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and they fled, everyone to his home. There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot-soldiers. ¹¹The ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Psalm 44

National Lament and Prayer for Help

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Maskil.
¹ We have heard with our ears, O God,
   our ancestors have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
   in the days of old:
¹⁰ You made us turn back from the foe,
   and our enemies have taken spoil for themselves.
¹¹ You have made us like sheep for slaughter,
   and have scattered us among the nations.
¹⁴ You have made us a byword among the nations,
   a laughing-stock^* among the peoples.
¹⁵ All day long my disgrace is before me,
   and shame has covered my face
²⁴ Why do you hide your face?
   Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
²⁵ For we sink down to the dust;
   our bodies cling to the ground.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

40 A leper^* came to him begging him, and kneeling^* he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ ⁴¹Moved with pity,^* Jesus^* stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ ⁴²Immediately the leprosy^* left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, ⁴⁴saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ ⁴⁵But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus^* could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.