The Daily Audio Bible
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Israel Asks for a King
8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges in Israel. 2 The name of his first-born son was Joel. And the name of his second son was Abijah. They were men who judged in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside to get money. They took pay to do things that were not right and fair. 4 Then all the leaders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “See, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Choose a king to rule over us like all the nations.” 6 But Samuel was not pleased when they said, “Give us a king to rule over us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all they say to you. For they have not turned away from you. They have turned away from Me, that I should not be king over them. 8 They are doing to you what they have done since the day I brought them out of Egypt until now. They have turned away from Me and worshiped other gods. 9 So listen to their voice. But tell them of the danger and show them the ways of the king who will rule over them.”
10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked him for a king. 11 He said, “This will be the way the king will rule over you. He will take your sons and make them drive his war-wagons, be his horsemen, and run in front of his war-wagons. 12 He will choose leaders of thousands and of fifties. He will choose men to plow his ground, gather his grain, and make objects for war and for his war-wagons. 13 He will take your daughters to make perfume, work with the food, and make bread. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vines and olives, and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth part of your grain and your vines to give to his leaders and his servants. 16 He will take your men servants and your women servants and the best of your cattle and your donkeys, and use them for his work. 17 He will take a tenth part of your flocks, and you yourselves will be made to work for him. 18 You will cry out in that day because of your king you have chosen for yourselves. But the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
19 But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We will have a king rule over us, 20 so we may be like other nations. Our king may rule over us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 After Samuel heard all the people’s words, he told the Lord what they had said. 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice, and choose a king for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every one of you go home to his city.”
Saul Is Chosen to Be the King
9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite. He was a powerful man of action. 2 He had a son whose name was Saul, a good-looking young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel who was better looking than he. He was a head taller than any of the people. 3 Now the donkeys of Saul’s father Kish were lost. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys.” 4 They passed through the hill country of Ephraim and the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. They passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.
5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return. My father might stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.” 6 The servant said, “See, there is a man of God in this city, and people honor him. All that he says comes true. Let us go there. It may be that he can tell us where we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? The bread in our bags is gone. There is no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant answered Saul and said, “See, I have a fourth of a piece of silver in my hand. I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us the way to go.” 9 (Before in Israel, when a man went to ask God a question, he would say, “Come, let us go to the man of God.” For he who is called a man who speaks for God now, was called a seer before.) 10 Saul said to his servant, “What you said is good. Come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women going out to get water. They said to them, “Is the man of God here?” 12 The women answered, “He is. Look, he is up in front of you. Hurry now, for he has come to the city today because the people are giving a gift in worship on the high place today. 13 You will find him as you go into the city, before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes to give thanks for the gift. Then those who are asked to come will eat. Now go up, for you will find him at once.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them to go up to the high place.
15 Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had told Samuel, 16 “I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin about this time tomorrow. Choose him to be the leader of My people Israel. And he will save My people from the Philistines. For I have seen the trouble of My people. I have heard their cry. 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “Here is the man I told you about. He is the one who will rule over My people.” 18 Then Saul came to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me, where is the man of God’s house?” 19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the man of God. Go up before me to the high place. For you will eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let you go. And I will tell you all that is on your mind. 20 Do not worry about your donkeys which were lost three days ago, for they have been found. And for whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?” 21 Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest of the family groups of Israel? Is not my family the least important of all the families of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me this way?”
22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the meeting room. He gave them a place at the head of those who were asked to come, about thirty men. 23 Samuel said to the one who was making the food ready, “Bring the part I gave you and told you to set aside.” 24 So the man picked up the leg with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been saved for you. Eat. It has been kept for you until the right time, ever since I asked the people to come.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 When they came down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof. 26 They got up early the next day. Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.
Saul Is Made King
27 As they were going out of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on before us, but you stand here. Then I will make the Word of God known to you.”
Jesus Teaches Many People
22 The next day the people on the other side of the lake saw no other boat there but the one His followers had been in. The people knew Jesus had not gone with His followers in the boat because they had gone alone. 23 There were other boats from Tiberias that had come near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 The people saw that Jesus and His followers were not there. They got into boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
25 The people found Him on the other side of the lake. They said to Him, “Teacher, when did You come here?” 26 Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, you are not looking for Me because of the powerful works. You are looking for Me because you ate bread and were filled. 27 Do not work for food that does not last. Work for food that lasts forever. The Son of Man will give you that kind of food. God the Father has shown He will do this.”
Jesus Teaches about Doing the Work of God
28 Then the people said to Him, “What are the works God wants us to do?” 29 Jesus said to them, “This is the work of God, that you put your trust in the One He has sent.” 30 They said to Him, “Can You show us some powerful work? Then we can see it and believe You. What will You do? 31 Our early fathers ate bread that came from heaven in the desert. This happened as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” (A)
Jesus Is the Bread of Life
32 Then Jesus said to the people, “For sure, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true Bread from heaven. 33 The Bread of God is He Who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to Him, “Sir, give us this Bread all the time.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry. He who puts his trust in Me will never be thirsty. 36 I said to you that you have seen Me and yet you do not put your trust in Me. 37 All whom My Father has given to Me will come to Me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to Me. 38 I came down from heaven. I did not come to do what I wanted to do. I came to do what My Father wanted Me to do. He is the One Who sent Me.
39 “The Father sent Me. He did not want Me to lose any of all those He gave Me. He wants Me to raise them to life on the last day. 40 He wants everyone who sees the Son to put his trust in Him and have life that lasts forever. I will raise that one up on the last day.”
41 The Jews talked among themselves against Him. They did not like it because He said, “I am the Bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They asked each other, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know His father and mother. How can He say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
32 They also made the Lord angry at the waters of Meribah. And trouble came to Moses because of them. 33 He spoke from his lips without thinking because they went against the Spirit of God.
34 They did not destroy the people as the Lord told them to do. 35 But they mixed with the nations and learned their ways. 36 They served their gods, which became a trap to them. 37 They even gave their sons and daughters as gifts on an altar to the demons. 38 They poured out the blood of those who were not guilty, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they gave on an altar to the gods of Canaan. And the land was poisoned with blood. 39 They made themselves unclean by what they did. They were not true to God in what they did.
40 So the Lord was angry with His people. He hated His people. 41 So He handed them over to the nations. And those who hated them ruled over them. 42 Those who hated them held a strong power over them. And they were made to obey them. 43 God set them free many times. But they always turned against Him and went deeper into sin.
44 But He looked upon their trouble when He heard their cry. 45 He remembered His agreement because of them, and took pity on them by the greatness of His loving-kindness. 46 Those who held them also saw how God took pity on them.
47 O Lord our God, save us! Gather us from among the nations. And we will give thanks to Your holy name and find honor in Your praise. 48 Honor and thanks be to the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever. Let all the people say, “Let it be so!” Praise the Lord!
34 Being right with God makes a nation great, but sin is a shame to any people.
35 The king’s favor is toward a wise servant, but his anger is toward the one who brings shame by what he does.
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