The Daily Audio Bible

Religious Leaders Are Killed

22 So David left there and ran to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and all those of his father’s house heard about it, they went down there to him. ² Then everyone who was in trouble, everyone who owed money, and everyone who was not happy with the way he was living, came together to him. He became their captain. There were about 400 men with him.

³ David went from there to Mizpah of Moab. He said to the king of Moab, “I beg of you, let my father and mother come and stay with you until I know what God will do for me.” ⁴ Then he left them with the king of Moab. They stayed with him all the time that David was in his safe place. ⁵ The man who told what will happen in the future, Gad, said to David, “Do not stay in this strong place. Leave, and go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went among the trees of Hereth.

⁶ Now Saul heard that David and the men with him had been found. Saul was sitting in Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the high place with his spear in his hand. All his servants were standing around him. ⁷ Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and grape fields? Will he make you all leaders of thousands and hundreds? ⁸ For all of you have made plans against me. No one lets me know when my son makes an agreement with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or lets me know that my son has caused my servant to be against me and hide and wait, as it is this day.” ⁹ Doeg the Edomite, who was standing by Saul’s servants, said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. ¹⁰ Ahimelech asked the Lord what David should do. He gave David food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹¹ Then the king sent someone to call Ahimelech the religious leader, son of Ahitub, and all those of his father’s family, the religious leaders who were in Nob. And all of them came to the king. ¹² Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” He answered, “Here I am, my lord.” ¹³ Saul said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse planned against me? Why have you given him bread and a sword, and have asked the Lord what he should do, so he could rise against me and wait in hiding, as it is this day?” ¹⁴ Ahimelech answered the king, “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David? He is the king’s son-in-law. He is captain of the soldiers who keep you safe, and is honored in your house. ¹⁵ Is today the first time that I have asked things of God for him? No! Do not let the king do anything wrong to his servant or any of those of my father’s family. For your servant knows nothing at all about this.” ¹⁶ But the king said, “You will die for sure, Ahimelech, you and all those of your father’s family!” ¹⁷ The king said to the soldiers who stood around him, “Turn and put the religious leaders of the Lord to death. Because they are on David’s side. They knew he was running away, and did not tell me.” But the servants of the king were not willing to go against the religious leaders of the Lord. ¹⁸ Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the religious leaders.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and killed the religious leaders. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen vest. ¹⁹ Then he destroyed Nob, the city of the religious leaders, with the sword. He killed men and women, children and babies, cattle, donkeys and sheep, with the sword.

²⁰ But Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, got away and ran after David. ²¹ Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the religious leaders of the Lord. ²² David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would be sure to tell Saul. I am to blame for the death of every person in your father’s family. ²³ Stay with me. Do not be afraid. For he who wants to kill me wants to kill you. But you are safe with me.”

David Saves Keilah

23 Then they told David, “See, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah. They are taking the grain from the grain-floors.” ² So David asked the Lord, “Should I go and fight these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go, fight the Philistines, and save Keilah.” ³ But David’s men said to him, “See, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” ⁴ Then David asked the Lord again. The Lord answered him, “Get ready and go down to Keilah. For I will give the Philistines into your hand.” ⁵ So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines. He killed many of them and took away their cattle. And David saved the people of Keilah.

⁶ When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech ran to David at Keilah, he came with a linen vest in his hand. ⁷ When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, he said, “God has given him to me. For he has shut himself in by going into a city with iron gates.” ⁸ Saul called all the men for war, to go down to Keilah to trap David and his men. ⁹ David knew that Saul was planning against him, so he said to Abiathar the religious leader, “Bring the linen vest here.” ¹⁰ Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has heard for sure that Saul is planning to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me. ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah give me to him? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” ¹² Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah give me and my men to Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will give you up.” ¹³ Then David and his men, about 600, got up and left Keilah. They went where they could go. When Saul was told that David had run away from Keilah, he gave up going there.

David Stays in the Hill Country

¹⁴ David stayed in the safe places in the desert. He stayed in the hill country in the desert of Ziph. Saul looked for him every day, but God did not give David to him. ¹⁵ David saw that Saul had come out to try to kill him. David was in the desert of Ziph at Horesh. ¹⁶ Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and gave him strength in God. ¹⁷ He said to him, “Do not be afraid, because my father Saul will not find you. You will be king of Israel, and I will be next to you. My father Saul knows this also.” ¹⁸ So the two of them made an agreement before the Lord. And David stayed at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding with us in the strong places at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, south of Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now come, O king, as you desire to come. And we will give David into the king’s hand.” ²¹ Saul said, “May the Lord bring good to you. For you have had pity on me. ²² Go and make sure. See where he is, and who has seen him there. For I am told that he is very good at fooling people. ²³ Look and learn about all his hiding places, and return to me with news that is sure. Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him among all the thousands of Judah.” ²⁴ Then they got up and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the desert of Maon, in the Arabah, south of Jeshimon. ²⁵ Saul and his men went to look for him, and David was told about it. So he went down to the rock in the desert of Maon. ²⁶ Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. David was in a hurry to get away from Saul. For Saul and his men were closing in upon David and his men to take them. ²⁷ But a man came with news to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have come into the land by surprise to fight us.” ²⁸ So Saul returned from going after David, and went against the Philistines. So they called that place the Rock of Getting Away. ²⁹ David went from there and stayed in the strong places of Engedi.

The Shepherd and the Door

10 “For sure, I tell you, the man who goes into the sheep-pen some other way than through the door is one who steals and robs. ² The shepherd of the sheep goes in through the door. ³ The one who watches the door opens it for him. The sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out. ⁴ When the shepherd walks ahead of them, they follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ They will not follow someone they do not know because they do not know his voice. They will run away from him.” ⁶ Jesus told this picture-story to them. Yet they did not understand what He said.

Jesus Is the Door

⁷ Again Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, I am the Door of the sheep. ⁸ All others who came ahead of Me are men who steal and rob. The sheep did not obey them. ⁹ I am the Door. Anyone who goes in through Me will be saved from the punishment of sin. He will go in and out and find food. ¹⁰ The robber comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came so they might have life, a great full life.

Jesus Teaches about the Good Shepherd

¹¹ “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹² One who is hired to watch the sheep is not the shepherd. He does not own the sheep. He sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep. He runs away while the wolf gets the sheep and makes them run everywhere. ¹³ The hired man runs away because he is hired. He does not care about the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me. ¹⁵ I know My Father as My Father knows Me. I give My life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep which are not from this sheep-pen. I must bring them also. They will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock with one shepherd.

¹⁷ “For this reason My Father loves Me. It is because I give My life that I might take it back again. ¹⁸ No one takes my life from Me. I give it by Myself. I have the right and the power to take it back again. My Father has given Me this right and power.”

¹⁹ Because of what He said, the Jews did not agree in their thinking. ²⁰ Many of them said, “He has a demon and is crazy. Why listen to Him?” ²¹ Others said, “A man who has a demon does not talk this way. Can a demon open the eyes of a blind man?”

One True God

115 Let honor be given to Your name and not to us, O Lord, not to us. Because You are loving and kind and faithful. ² Why should the nations say, “Where is their God now?” ³ But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever He wants to do. ⁴ Their gods are silver and gold, the work of human hands. ⁵ They have mouths but they cannot speak. They have eyes but they cannot see. ⁶ They have ears but they cannot hear. They have noses but they cannot smell. ⁷ They have hands but they cannot feel. They have feet but they cannot walk. They cannot make a sound come out of their mouths. ⁸ Those who make them and trust them will be like them.

⁹ O Israel, trust in the Lord. He is their help and safe-covering. ¹⁰ O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He is their help and safe-covering. ¹¹ You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and safe-covering. ¹² The Lord has remembered us and will make good come to us. He will make good come to the house of Israel. He will make good come to the house of Aaron. ¹³ He will make good come to those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great. ¹⁴ May the Lord make your numbers grow, both you and your children. ¹⁵ May you be given good things by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

¹⁶ The heavens belong to the Lord. But He has given the earth to the children of men. ¹⁷ The dead do not praise the Lord. Neither do those who go down into the quiet place. ¹⁸ But we will give honor and thanks to the Lord, now and forever. Praise the Lord!

¹⁸ A man with a bad temper starts fights, but he who is slow to anger quiets fighting.

¹⁹ The path of the lazy man is grown over with thorns, but the path of the faithful is a good road.