The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the NET. Switch to the NET to read along with the audio.
22 Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all ·the Israelites [Israel] and how his sons ·had sexual relations [lay] with the women who served at the ·entrance [doorway] to the Meeting Tent. 23 Eli said to them, “Why do you do these evil things that the people tell me about? 24 No, my sons. The Lord’s people are spreading a bad report about you. 25 If you sin against someone, God can ·help [intercede/mediate/arbitrate for] you. But if you sin against the Lord himself, ·no one [who…?] can ·help [intercede/mediate/arbitrate for] you!” But Eli’s sons would not listen to ·him [L the voice/words/rebuke of their father], because the Lord ·had decided [desired; wanted] to put them to death.
26 The boy Samuel grew ·physically and pleased [in stature and in favor with] the Lord and the people.
27 A man of God [C a prophet] came to Eli and said, “·This is what the Lord says [T Thus says the Lord]: ‘·I [L Did I not…?] clearly showed myself to the ·family [L house] of your ·ancestor Aaron [father] when in Egypt they were slaves to ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh’s house]. 28 ·I chose [L Did I not choose…?] them from all the tribes of Israel to be my priests. I wanted them to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ·holy vest [L ephod in my presence/before me]. ·I [L Did I not…?] also let the ·family [L house] of your ·ancestor [father] have ·part of all [all] the offerings by fire sacrificed by the Israelites. 29 So why ·don’t you respect [do you scorn/trample/look greedily at; L kick at] the sacrifices and ·gifts [offerings that I have commanded/prescribed]? You honor your sons ·more than [above] me. You ·grow fat [fatten yourselves] on the ·best [choicest] parts of the meat the Israelites bring to me.’
30 “So the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I promised that your ·family [L house] and your ·ancestor’s family [father’s house] would ·serve [minister/walk before] me always.’ But now the Lord says: ‘·This must stop [Far be it from me]! I will honor those who honor me, but I will ·dishonor [despise; have contempt for] those who ·ignore [disdain] me. 31 The ·time [day] is coming when I will ·destroy [L break/cut off the strength of] the ·descendants [L seed] of both you and your ·ancestors [L father’s house]. No ·man [one] will ·grow old [reach old age] in your family. 32 You will ·see trouble in my house. No matter what good things happen to Israel, [or watch with envy/distress/greedy eyes on all the prosperity I pour out on Israel. But] there will never be an old ·man [person] in your family [22:11–23]. 33 I will ·not totally cut off your family from my altar. But […keep one of you alive at my altar so that] your eyes will cry and your heart be sad, because all your descendants will die.
34 “‘·I will give you a [This will be your] sign. Both your sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will die on the same day [4:1–22]. 35 Then I will ·choose [L raise up] a loyal priest ·for myself [or myself] who will ·listen to me and do what I want [act according to what is in my heart and soul/mind]. I will ·make his family continue [build him an enduring family/house], and he will always ·serve before [walk/go in and out before] my ·appointed king [anointed one; 1 Kin. 2:26–27]. 36 Then everyone left in your ·family [L house] will come and bow down before him. They will beg for a ·little money [piece of silver] or a ·little food [loaf of bread] and say, “Please give me ·a job as priest [some priestly duty/work] so I can ·have food to eat [eat a morsel of bread].”’”
God Calls Samuel
3 The boy Samuel ·served [ministered before] the Lord under Eli. In those days ·the Lord did not speak directly to people very often [L the word from the Lord was rare]; there were very few visions.
2 Eli’s eyes were so ·weak [dim] he ·was almost blind [L could not see]. One night he was lying in ·bed [his usual place]. 3 Samuel was ·also in bed [L lying down] in the Lord’s ·house [sanctuary; temple], where the Ark of God [C another name for the Ark of the Covenant; 4:3] was. God’s lamp [C probably the Menorah] ·was still burning [had not yet gone out].
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he answered, “I am here!” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back ·to bed [and lie down].” So Samuel went back ·to bed [and lay down].
6 The Lord called again, “Samuel!”
Samuel again went to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
Again Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back ·to bed [and lie down].”
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and ·the Lord had not spoken directly to him yet [L the word of the Lord had not been revealed to him before].
8 The Lord called Samuel for the third time. Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
Then Eli ·realized [understood; perceived; discerned that] the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So he told Samuel, “Go ·to bed [lie down]. If he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord. ·I am your servant and I am […for your servant is] listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in ·bed [his place].
10 The Lord came and stood there and called as he had before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel said, “·Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am [L Speak, for your servant is] listening.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Watch, I am going to do something in Israel that will ·shock [L make the ears ring/tingle of] those who hear about it. 12 ·At that time [L In that day] I will ·do to [carry out against] Eli and his ·family [L house] everything I ·promised [threatened; spoke], from beginning to end. 13 I told Eli I would ·punish [judge] his ·family always [L house forever], because ·he knew his sons were evil [of the sin/iniquity he knew of]. They ·cursed God[a] [blasphemed], but he did not ·stop [correct; discipline; rebuke] them. 14 So I swore to Eli’s ·family [L house], ‘Your ·guilt [sins; iniquity] will never be ·removed [forgiven; atoned for; expiated] by sacrifice or offering.’”
15 Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the ·house [temple] of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision, 16 but Eli called to him, “Samuel, my son!”
Samuel answered, “I am here.”
17 Eli asked, “·What did the Lord say [What word/message did he speak/give] to you? Don’t hide it from me. May God ·punish you terribly [L do so to you, and more also,] if you hide from me anything he said to you.” 18 So Samuel told Eli everything and did not hide anything from him. Then Eli said, “He [or It] is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks ·is best [good].”
19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up; he did not let any of Samuel’s ·messages [words] ·fail to come true [L fall to the ground]. 20 Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba [C from the extreme north to the extreme south], knew Samuel was ·a true [confirmed/attested as a] prophet of the Lord [Deut. 13:1–5; 18:14–22]. 21 And the Lord continued to ·show himself [appear; manifest himself] at Shiloh [1:3], and he ·showed [revealed] himself to Samuel through his word.
4 So, ·news about Samuel [or Samuel’s words] spread through all of Israel.
The Philistines Capture the Ark of the Agreement
At that time the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines [C a rival nation occupying the southwest coast of Israel]. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer [C somewhere near Aphek; means “stone of help”] and the Philistines [L camped] at Aphek [C on the plain of Sharon, northeast of Joppa]. 2 The Philistines ·went [deployed; drew up in battlelines] to meet the Israelites in battle. And ·as the battle spread [or when battle was joined], they defeated the Israelites, killing about four thousand soldiers on the battlefield. 3 When ·some Israelite soldiers [L the troops] went back to their camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord ·let the Philistines defeat us [or defeat/rout us before the Philistines]? Let’s bring the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] ·with [or of] the Lord [C the Ark represented the presence of God; Ex. 25:10–22] here from Shiloh [1:3] and take it with us into battle. Then ·God [or it] will save us from the ·power [L hand] of our enemies.”
4 So the ·people [or troops] sent men to Shiloh [1:3]. They brought back the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] ·with [or of] the Lord [4:3] ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; of Hosts], who sits ·between [on] the ·gold creatures with wings [L cherubim; C powerful angelic creatures]. Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark [L of the covenant of God].
5 When the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] ·with [or of] the Lord came into the camp, all the Israelites ·gave a great shout of joy [shouted with a great shout] that made the ground shake. 6 When the Philistines heard Israel’s shout, they asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”
Then the Philistines ·found out [realized; understood] that the Ark of the Lord had come into the Hebrew camp. 7 They were afraid and said, “·A god [or The gods; or God] has come into the Hebrew camp! ·We’re in trouble [L Woe to us; Disaster]! This has never happened before! 8 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] us! Who can ·save [rescue; deliver] us from these powerful gods? ·They are the ones [These are the gods] who ·struck [T smote] the Egyptians with ·all kinds of disasters [plagues] in the ·desert [wilderness; Ex. 7–12]. 9 Be brave, Philistines! Fight like men! In the past they were ·our [your] slaves. So fight like men, or ·we [you] will become their slaves.”
10 So the Philistines fought hard and defeated the Israelites, and every ·Israelite soldier ran away to his own home [man fled to his tent]. It was a great ·defeat [slaughter] for Israel, because thirty thousand Israelite [foot] soldiers ·were killed [L fell]. 11 The Ark of God was ·taken [captured] by the Philistines, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
12 That same day a man ·from the tribe of [L of] Benjamin ran from the battle. He tore his clothes and put dust on his head [C to indicate mourning]. 13 When he arrived in Shiloh [1:3], Eli was by the side of the road. He was sitting there in a chair, watching [L eagerly; anxiously], because ·he was worried about [L his heart trembled/feared for] the Ark of God. When the Benjaminite entered Shiloh [1:3], he told ·the bad news [what had happened]. Then all the ·people in town [city; towns] cried loudly. 14 Eli heard the crying and asked, “What’s all this ·noise [commotion]?”
The Benjaminite ran to Eli and told him what had happened. 15 Eli was now ninety-eight years old, and ·he was blind [L his gaze was fixed, so he could not see] . 16 The Benjaminite told him, “I have come from the battle. I ·ran all the way here [escaped/fled from the battle line] today.”
Eli asked, “What happened, my son?”
17 The ·Benjaminite [L messenger] answered, “Israel ·ran away [fled] from the Philistines, and the ·Israelite army has lost many soldiers [people/troops have been slaughtered]. Your two sons are both dead, and the Philistines have ·taken [captured] the Ark of God.”
18 When he mentioned the Ark of God [4:3], Eli fell backward off his chair. He fell beside the gate, broke his neck, and died, because he was old and ·fat [heavy]. He had ·led [judged; been judge of] Israel for forty years.
The Glory Is Gone
19 Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and was about to give birth. When she heard the news that the Ark of God had been taken and that Eli, her father-in-law, and Phinehas, her husband, were both dead, she ·began to give [went into labor/crouched down and gave] birth to her child. The child was born, but ·the mother had much trouble in giving birth [her labor pains overwhelmed her]. 20 As she was dying, the women who helped her said, “Don’t ·worry [be afraid]! You’ve given birth to a son!” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 She named the baby Ichabod [C meaning “No Glory”], saying, “Israel’s glory ·is gone [has departed].” She said this because the Ark of God had been ·taken [captured] and her father-in-law and husband were dead. 22 She said, “Israel’s glory is ·gone [departed], because the Ark of God has been ·taken away [captured].”
24 “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], whoever ·hears [obeys] ·what I say [L my word/message] and believes in the One who sent me has eternal life. That person will not ·be judged guilty [L come into judgment/condemnation] but has ·already left death and entered life [L passed from death into life]. 25 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], the ·time [L hour] is coming and is already here when the dead will ·hear [obey] the voice of the Son of God, and those who ·hear [obey] will ·have life [live]. 26 [L For] ·Life comes from the Father himself [just as the Father has life], ·and [so] he has ·allowed the Son to have [given the Son] life in himself as well. 27 And the Father has given the Son the ·approval [authority; power; right] to ·judge [execute judgment], because he is the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14]. 28 Don’t ·be surprised [marvel; be amazed] at this: A ·time [L hour] is coming when all who are dead and in their graves will hear his voice. 29 Then they will come out of their graves. Those who did good ·will rise and have life forever [L to the resurrection resulting in life], but those who did evil ·will rise to be judged guilty [L to the resurrection resulting in condemnation/judgment].
Jesus Is God’s Son
30 “I can do nothing ·alone [by myself; on my own initiative]. I judge ·only the way I am told [L as I hear], so my judgment is ·fair [just; right; righteous]. I don’t ·try to please myself [L seek my own will/desire], but ·I try to please [L the will of] the One who sent me.
31 “If only I ·tell people [testify; witness] about myself, ·what I say [my testimony; witness] is not ·true [valid]. 32 But there is another who ·tells [testifies; witnesses] about me, and I know that ·the things he says [L the witness/testimony he witnesses/testifies] about me are ·true [valid].
33 “You have sent people to John, and he has ·told you [testified/witnessed to] the truth. 34 It is not that I ·need [accept; depend on] ·what humans say [human testimony/witness]; I tell you this so you can be saved. 35 John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were ·happy to enjoy [L willing to rejoice in] his light for a while.
36 “But I have a ·proof [testimony; witness] about myself that is ·greater [weightier] than that of John. [L For] The ·things [L works] I do, which are the ·things [L works] my Father gave me to ·do [complete; finish; C the signs and miracles which point to his saving work on the cross], ·prove [testify; witness] that the Father sent me. 37 And the Father himself who sent me has given ·proof [testimony; witness] ·about me [concerning me; on my behalf]. You have never heard his voice or seen ·what he looks like [his form; his outward appearance]. 38 His ·teaching [word; message] does not ·live [remain; abide] in you, because you don’t believe in the One the Father sent. 39 You ·carefully study [search; examine] the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. They do in fact ·tell [testify; witness] ·about me [concerning me; on my behalf], 40 but you ·refuse [do not want] to come to me to have that life.
41 “I don’t ·need [or accept; receive] ·praise [glory; honor] from people. 42 But I know you—I know that you don’t have God’s love in you. 43 I have come ·from my Father and speak for him [L in my Father’s name], ·but [or and] you don’t ·accept [receive] me. But when another person comes, ·speaking only for himself [L in his own name], you will ·accept [receive] him. 44 You try to ·get praise [receive glory/honor] from each other, but you do not try to ·get the praise [receive glory/honor] that comes from the only God. So how can you believe? 45 Don’t think that I will ·stand before the Father and say you are wrong [L accuse you before the Father]. The one who ·says you are wrong [L accuses you] is Moses, the one ·you hoped would save you [L in whom you hoped]. 46 [L For] If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because Moses wrote about me [C in the Torah, the first five books of the OT; for example, Deut. 18:15 quoted in Acts 3:22]. 47 But if you don’t believe what Moses wrote, how can you believe what I say?”
Israel’s Failure to Trust God
106 Praise the Lord!
Thank the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
2 ·No one [L Who…?] can tell all the mighty things the Lord has done;
·no one [L who…?] can ·speak [declare] all his praise.
3 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·do [keep; observe; guard] ·right [justice],
who do what is ·fair [righteous] at all times.
4 Lord, remember me when you ·are kind [show favor] to your people;
·help [come to] me when you ·save them [give them victory].
5 Let me see the ·good things you do for [prosperity of] your chosen people.
Let me ·be happy [rejoice] along with your ·happy [rejoicing] nation;
let me join your ·own people [inheritance] in praising you.
6 We have sinned just as our ·ancestors [fathers] did.
We have done wrong; we have done evil.
7 Our ·ancestors [fathers] in Egypt
did not ·learn [grow in wisdom] from your ·miracles [wonderful acts].
They did not remember all your ·kindnesses [loyalty],
so they ·turned [rebelled] against you at the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [78:13; Ex. 14–15].
8 But the Lord ·saved them [gave them victory] ·for his own sake [L because of his name],
to ·show [reveal] his great power.
9 He ·commanded [reprimanded; rebuked] the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [v. 7], and it dried up.
He led them through the deep sea as if it were a ·desert [wilderness].
10 He ·saved them [gave them victory over] from those who hated them.
He ·saved [redeemed] them from the ·power [hand] of their enemies,
11 and the water covered their foes.
Not one of them ·escaped [L was left].
12 Then the people ·believed what the Lord said [L had faith in his word],
and they sang praises to him.
30 ·Peace of mind [L A healthy mind/heart] means a healthy body,
but jealousy will rot your bones.
31 Whoever ·mistreats [oppresses] the poor insults their Maker,
but whoever ·is kind [shows grace] to the needy honors God.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.