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Samuel Anoints Saul
10 Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s[a] head. Samuel[b] kissed him and said, “The Lord has chosen you[c] to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord’s people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen[d] you as leader over his inheritance.[e] 2 When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on Benjamin’s border. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you have gone looking for have been found. Your father is no longer concerned about the donkeys but has become anxious about you two![f] He is asking, “What should I do about my son?”’
3 “As you continue on from there, you will come to the tall tree of Tabor. At that point three men who are going up to God at Bethel will meet you. One of them will be carrying three young goats, one of them will be carrying three round loaves of bread, and one of them will be carrying a container of wine. 4 They will ask you how you’re doing and will give you two loaves of bread. You will accept them. 5 Afterward you will go to Gibeah of God, where there are Philistine officials.[g] When you enter the town, you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place. They will have harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person.
7 “When these signs have taken place, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God will be with you.[h] 8 You will go down to Gilgal before me. I am going to join you there to offer burnt offerings and to make peace offerings. You should wait for seven days until I arrive and tell you what to do.”
Saul Becomes King
9 As Saul[i] turned[j] to leave Samuel, God changed his inmost person.[k] All these signs happened on that very day. 10 When Saul and his servant[l] arrived at Gibeah, a company of prophets was coming out to meet him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul[m] and he prophesied among them. 11 When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people asked one another, “What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?”
12 A man who was from there replied, “And who is their father?” Therefore this became a proverb: “Is even Saul among the prophets?” 13 When Saul[n] had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.
14 Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” Saul[o] replied, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost,[p] we went to Samuel.” 15 Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”[q] 16 Saul said to his uncle, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul[r] did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship.
17 Then Samuel called the people together before the Lord at Mizpah. 18 He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt and I delivered you from the power[s] of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 19 But today you have rejected your God who saves you from all your trouble and distress. You have said, “No![t] Appoint a king over us.” Now take your positions before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.’”
20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. 21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of Matri was chosen by lot. At last Saul son of Kish was chosen by lot. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found. 22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Has the man arrived here yet?” The Lord said, “He has hidden himself among the equipment.”[u]
23 So they ran and brought him from there. When he took his position among the people, he stood head and shoulders above them all. 24 Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? Indeed, there is no one like him among all the people.” All the people shouted out, “Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work.[v] He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes. 26 Even Saul went to his home in Gibeah. With him went some brave men whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some wicked men[w] said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and did not even bring him a gift. But Saul said nothing about it.[x]
Saul Comes to the Aid of Jabesh
11 [y] Nahash[z] the Ammonite marched[aa] against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”
2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”
3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Leave us alone for seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If there is no one who can deliver us, we will come out voluntarily to you.”
4 When the messengers went to Gibeah (where Saul lived)[ab] and informed the people of these matters, all the people wept loudly.[ac] 5 Now Saul was walking behind the[ad] oxen as he came from the field. Saul asked, “What has happened to the people? Why are they weeping?” So they told him about[ae] the men of Jabesh.
6 The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 7 He took a pair[af] of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said, “Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out as one army.[ag] 8 When Saul counted them at Bezek, the Israelites were 300,000 strong[ah] and the men of Judah numbered 30,000.
9 They said to the messengers who had come, “Here’s what you should say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow deliverance will come to you when the sun is fully up.’” When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh Gilead, they were happy. 10 The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you[ai] and you can do with us whatever you wish.”[aj]
11 The next day Saul placed the people in three groups. They went to the Ammonite camp during the morning watch and struck them[ak] down until the hottest part of the day. The survivors scattered; no two of them remained together.
Saul Is Established as King
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who were the ones asking, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Hand over those men so we may execute them!” 13 But Saul said, “No one will be killed on this day. For today the Lord has given Israel a victory!” 14 Samuel said to the people, “Come on! Let’s go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, where[al] they established Saul as king in the Lord’s presence. They offered up peace offerings there in the Lord’s presence. Saul and all the Israelites were very happy.
43 Jesus replied,[a] “Do not complain about me to one another.[b] 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,[c] and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’[d] Everyone who hears and learns from the Father[e] comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God—he[f] has seen the Father.)[g] 47 I tell you the solemn truth,[h] the one who believes[i] has eternal life.[j] 48 I am the bread of life.[k] 49 Your ancestors[l] ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This[m] is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person[n] may eat from it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread[o] that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus[p] began to argue with one another,[q] “How can this man[r] give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth,[s] unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,[t] you have no life[u] in yourselves. 54 The one who eats[v] my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.[w] 55 For my flesh is true[x] food, and my blood is true[y] drink. 56 The one who eats[z] my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me, and I in him.[aa] 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes[ab] me will live because of me. 58 This[ac] is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread your ancestors[ad] ate, but then later died.[ae] The one who eats[af] this bread will live forever.”
Many Followers Depart
59 Jesus[ag] said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue[ah] in Capernaum.[ai] 60 Then many of his disciples, when they heard these things,[aj] said, “This is a difficult[ak] saying![al] Who can understand it?”[am] 61 When Jesus was aware[an] that his disciples were complaining[ao] about this, he said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended?[ap] 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before?[aq] 63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help![ar] The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.[as] 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had already known from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)[at] 65 So Jesus added,[au] “Because of this I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has allowed him to come.”[av]
Peter’s Confession
66 After this many of his disciples quit following him[aw] and did not accompany him[ax] any longer. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”[ay] 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We[az] have come to believe and to know[ba] that you are the Holy One of God!”[bb] 70 Jesus replied,[bc] “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is the devil?”[bd] 71 (Now he said this about Judas son of Simon Iscariot,[be] for Judas,[bf] one of the twelve, was going to betray him.)[bg]
Book 5 (Psalms 107-150)
Psalm 107[a]
107 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Let those delivered by the Lord speak out,[c]
those whom he delivered[d] from the power[e] of the enemy,
3 and gathered from foreign lands,[f]
from east and west,
from north and south.
4 They wandered through the wilderness, in a wasteland;[g]
they found no road to a city in which to live.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
they fainted from exhaustion.[h]
6 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
7 He led them on a level road,[i]
that they might find a city in which to live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[j]
9 For he has satisfied those who thirst,[k]
and those who hunger he has filled with food.[l]
10 They sat in utter darkness,[m]
bound in painful iron chains,[n]
11 because they had rebelled against God’s commands,[o]
and rejected the instructions of the Most High.[p]
12 So he used suffering to humble them;[q]
they stumbled and no one helped them up.
13 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
14 He brought them out of the utter darkness,[r]
and tore off their shackles.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[s]
16 For he shattered the bronze gates,
and hacked through the iron bars.[t]
17 They acted like fools in their rebellious ways,[u]
and suffered because of their sins.
18 They lost their appetite for all food,[v]
and they drew near the gates of death.
19 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
20 He sent them an assuring word[w] and healed them;
he rescued them from the pits where they were trapped.[x]
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[y]
22 Let them present thank offerings,
and loudly proclaim what he has done.[z]
23 [aa] Some traveled on[ab] the sea in ships,
and carried cargo over the vast waters.[ac]
24 They witnessed the acts of the Lord,
his amazing feats on the deep water.
25 He gave the order for a windstorm,[ad]
and it stirred up the waves of the sea.[ae]
26 They[af] reached up to the sky,
then dropped into the depths.
The sailors’ strength[ag] left them[ah] because the danger was so great.[ai]
27 They swayed[aj] and staggered like drunks,
and all their skill proved ineffective.[ak]
28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
29 He calmed the storm,[al]
and the waves[am] grew silent.
30 The sailors[an] rejoiced because the waves[ao] grew quiet,
and he led them to the harbor[ap] they desired.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[aq]
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people.
Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside.[ar]
33 He turned[as] streams into a desert,
springs of water into arid land,
34 and a fruitful land into a barren place,[at]
because of the sin of its inhabitants.
35 As for his people,[au] he turned[av] a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into springs of water.
36 He allowed the hungry to settle there,
and they established a city in which to live.
37 They cultivated[aw] fields,
and planted vineyards,
which yielded a harvest of fruit.[ax]
38 He blessed[ay] them so that they became very numerous.
He would not allow their cattle to decrease in number.[az]
39 As for their enemies,[ba] they decreased in number and were beaten down,
because of painful distress[bb] and suffering.
40 He would pour[bc] contempt upon princes,
and he made them wander in a wasteland with no road.
41 Yet he protected[bd] the needy from oppression,
and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.
42 When the godly see this, they rejoice,
and every sinner[be] shuts his mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things.
Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love.
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