The Daily Audio Bible

10 Then Samuel took a bottle of oil and poured it on Saul’s head. He kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord chosen you to be a ruler over His land? ² When you leave me today, you will meet two men by Rachel’s grave in the land of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you went to look for have been found. Now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and is worried about you, saying, “What should I do about my son?”’ ³ Then you will go farther and come to the oak tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you. One will be carrying three young goats. Another will be carrying three loaves of bread. And another will be carrying a bottle of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will take from their hand. ⁵ Then you will come to the hill of God where there are Philistine soldiers. When you come there to the city, you will meet a group of men who speak for God coming down from the high place. They will have harps, an object to beat sounds of joy, and a horn. And they will be speaking God’s Word. ⁶ Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you with power. You will speak God’s Word with them and be changed into another man. ⁷ When you see these special things, do whatever you find that should be done. For God is with you. ⁸ You will go down before me to Gilgal. Then see, I will come down to you to give burnt gifts and peace gifts. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do.”

⁹ When Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart. And all these special things happened on that day. ¹⁰ When they came to the hill, a group of men who speak for God met him. The Spirit of God came upon him with power, so that he spoke God’s Word with them. ¹¹ People who had known him before saw him doing this and asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the men who speak God’s Word?” ¹² One of the men there answered, “Now, who is their father?” So it became a saying: “Is Saul one of the men who speak God’s Word?” ¹³ When Saul had finished speaking the Word of God, he went to the altar at the high place.

¹⁴ The brother of Saul’s father said to him and his servant, “Where have you been?” And Saul said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵ The brother of Saul’s father said, “Tell me, what did Samuel say to you?” ¹⁶ Saul said to his father’s brother, “He told us that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him what Samuel had told him about being king.

¹⁷ Then Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸ He said to the people of Israel, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt. I saved you from the power of the Egyptians, and from the power of all the nations that made it hard for you.’ ¹⁹ But today you have turned away from your God, Who saves you from all your troubles. You have said, ‘No! Have a king rule over us!’ So now come before the Lord, by your family groups and by your thousands.” ²⁰ When Samuel brought all the families of Israel near, the name of the family group of Benjamin was drawn. ²¹ Then he brought the family group of Benjamin near by its families, and the name of the Matrite family was drawn. Then the name of Saul the son of Kish was drawn. But when they looked for him, he could not be found. ²² So they asked the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” The Lord said, “See, he is hiding among the bags.” ²³ They ran and brought him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of them. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? For sure there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people called out and said, “Long live the king!” ²⁵ Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the king and his nation. He wrote them in a book and laid it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. ²⁶ Saul went home to Gibeah. And the strong men whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷ But some men of no worth said, “How can this man save us?” They hated him and did not bring him any gift. But he kept quiet.

Saul Wins the Battle over the Ammonites

11 Then Nahash the Ammonite came and his soldiers set up their tents around Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make an agreement with us, and we will work for you.” ² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make an agreement with you only if I may cut out the right eye of every one of you. This way I will put all Israel to shame.” ³ The leaders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us alone for seven days, so we may send men with news through the land of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” ⁴ The men came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news to the people. And all the people cried with a loud voice.

⁵ Now Saul was coming from the field behind the cattle, and he said, “What troubles the people? Why are they crying?” So they told him the news the men had brought from Jabesh. ⁶ The Spirit of God came upon Saul with power when he heard this news, and he became very angry. ⁷ He took two bulls and cut them in pieces and sent them through the land of Israel with the men who had brought the news, saying, “This will be done to the bulls of those who will not come out after Saul and Samuel.” The fear of the Lord came upon the people, and they all came out together. ⁸ Saul numbered them at Bezek. There were 300,000 men of Israel, and 30,000 men of Judah. ⁹ They said to the men who had brought the news, “Tell the men of Jabesh-gilead that tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have help.” So the men went and told the news to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad. ¹⁰ Then the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you. And you may do to us whatever you think is good.” ¹¹ The next morning, Saul put the people in three groups. They came among the tents early in the morning and killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who were left alive were divided, so that no two of them stayed together.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Should Saul rule over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” ¹³ But Saul said, “No man will be put to death this day. For today the Lord has saved Israel.”

¹⁴ Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and make it the place for the king.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal. There they made Saul king before the Lord, in Gilgal. There they gave peace gifts to the Lord. And there Saul and all the men of Israel were filled with much joy.

⁴³ Jesus said to them, “Do not talk among yourselves against Me. ⁴⁴ The Father sent Me. No man can come to Me unless the Father gives him the desire to come to Me. Then I will raise him to life on the last day. ⁴⁵ The early preachers wrote, ‘They will all be taught of God.’ ^(A) Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to Me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father. I am the only One Who has seen Him. ⁴⁷ For sure, I tell you, he who puts his trust in Me has life that lasts forever. ⁴⁸ I am the Bread of Life. ⁴⁹ Your early fathers ate bread that came from heaven in the desert. They died. ⁵⁰ But this is the Bread that comes down from heaven. The one who eats it never dies. ⁵¹ I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this Bread, he will live forever. The Bread which I will give is My flesh. I will give this for the life of the world.” ⁵² The Jews argued among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has life that lasts forever. I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me and I live in him. ⁵⁷ The living Father sent Me and I live because of Him. In the same way, the one who eats Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ I am this Bread that came down from heaven. It is not like the bread that your early fathers ate and they died. Whoever eats this Bread will live forever.” ⁵⁹ Jesus said these things in the Jewish place of worship while He was teaching in the city of Capernaum.

The Troubled Followers Leave Jesus

⁶⁰ After hearing this, many of His followers said, “This teaching is too hard! Who can listen to it?” ⁶¹ Jesus knew His followers talked against what He had said. He said to them, “Does this trouble you? ⁶² Then what would you say if you saw the Son of Man going up where He was before? ⁶³ It is the Spirit that gives life. The flesh is of no help. The words I speak to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But some of you do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning who would not put their trust in Him. He knew who would hand Him over to the leaders of the country. ⁶⁵ He said, “That is why I told you no one can come to Me unless the Father allows it.” ⁶⁶ From that time on, many of His followers turned back to their old ways of living. They would not go along with Him after that.

Peter Knows Who Jesus Is

⁶⁷ Then Jesus said to the twelve followers, “Will you leave Me also?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, who else can we go to? You have words that give life that lasts forever. ⁶⁹ We believe and know You are the Christ. You are the Son of the Living God.” ⁷⁰ Jesus said to them, “I chose you twelve as My followers. And one of you is a devil.” ⁷¹ He was speaking of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who was one of the twelve followers. He was ready to hand Jesus over to the leaders of the country.

God Helps Men in Trouble

107 Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His loving-kindness lasts forever! ² Let the people who have been saved say so. He has bought them and set them free from the hand of those who hated them. ³ He gathered them from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

⁴ Some traveled through the desert wastes. They did not find a way to a city where they could live. ⁵ They were hungry and thirsty. Their souls became weak within them. ⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And He took them out of their suffering. ⁷ He led them by a straight path to a city where they could live. ⁸ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness and His great works to the children of men! ⁹ For He fills the thirsty soul. And He fills the hungry soul with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death. They suffered in prison in iron chains. ¹¹ Because they had turned against the Words of God. They hated what the Most High told them to do. ¹² So He loaded them down with hard work. They fell and there was no one to help. ¹³ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And He saved them from their suffering. ¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death. And He broke their chains. ¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness and His great works to the children of men! ¹⁶ For He has broken gates of brass and cut through walls of iron.

¹⁷ Some were fools because of their wrong-doing. They had troubles because of their sins. ¹⁸ They hated all kinds of food. And they came near the gates of death. ¹⁹ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And He saved them from their suffering. ²⁰ He sent His Word and healed them. And He saved them from the grave. ²¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness and His great works to the children of men! ²² Let them give Him gifts of thanks and tell of His works with songs of joy.

²³ Some went out to sea in ships to buy and sell on the great waters. ²⁴ They have seen what the Lord can do and His great works on the sea. ²⁵ For He spoke and raised up a storm that lifted up the waves of the sea. ²⁶ They went up to the heavens and down to the deep. Their strength of heart left them in their danger. ²⁷ They could not walk straight but went from side to side like a drunk man. They did not know what to do. ²⁸ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And He took them out of all their problems. ²⁹ He stopped the storm, and the waves of the sea became quiet. ³⁰ Then they were glad because the sea became quiet. And He led them to the safe place they wanted. ³¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness and His great works to the children of men! ³² Let them honor Him in the meeting of the people and praise Him in the meeting of the leaders.

³³ He changes rivers into a desert and wells of water into a thirsty ground. ³⁴ He changes a land of much fruit into a salt waste because of the sin of those who live in it. ³⁵ He changes a desert into a pool of water and makes water flow out of dry ground. ³⁶ And He makes the hungry go there so they may build a city to live in. ³⁷ They plant seeds in the fields and plant grape-vines and gather much fruit. ³⁸ He lets good come to them and they become many in number. And He does not let the number of their cattle become less.

³⁹ When the number of people becomes less and they are put to shame under a bad power and trouble and sorrow, ⁴⁰ He pours anger on rulers. He makes them walk in the waste places where there is no path. ⁴¹ But He lifts those in need out of their troubles. He makes their families grow like flocks. ⁴² Those who are right see it and are glad. But all the sinful shut their mouths. ⁴³ Let the wise man think about these things. And may he think about the loving-kindness of the Lord.

15 A gentle answer turns away anger, but a sharp word causes anger.

² The tongue of the wise uses much learning in a good way, but the mouth of fools speaks in a foolish way.

³ The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the bad and the good.