The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the VOICE. Switch to the VOICE to read along with the audio.
10 Samuel took the flask of oil,(A) poured it out on Saul’s head,(B) kissed him, and said, “Hasn’t the Lord anointed you(C) ruler over his inheritance?[a](D) 2 Today when you leave me, you’ll find two men at Rachel’s Grave(E) at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you went looking for have been found,(F) and now your father has stopped being concerned about the donkeys and is worried about you, asking: What should I do about my son?’
3 “You will proceed from there until you come to the oak of Tabor.(G) Three men going up to God at Bethel(H) will meet you there, one bringing three goats, one bringing three loaves of bread, and one bringing a clay jar of wine. 4 They will ask how you are and give you two loaves[b] of bread, which you will accept from them.
5 “After that you will come to Gibeah of God(I) where there are Philistine garrisons.[c] When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets(J) coming down from the high place prophesying.(K) They will be preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres. 6 The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully on you,(L) you will prophesy with them,(M) and you will be transformed.(N) 7 When these signs have happened to you, do whatever your circumstances require[d](O) because God is with you. 8 Afterward, go ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what to do.”
9 When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed his heart,[e] and all the signs came about that day. 10 When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully on him, and he prophesied along with them.
11 Everyone who knew him previously and saw him prophesy with the prophets asked each other, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” (P)
12 Then a man who was from there asked, “And who is their father?” (Q)
As a result, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” became a popular saying. 13 Then Saul finished prophesying and went to the high place.
14 Saul’s uncle(R) asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?”
“To look for the donkeys,” Saul answered. “When we saw they weren’t there, we went to Samuel.”(S)
15 “Tell me,” Saul’s uncle asked, “what did Samuel say to you?”
16 Saul told him, “He assured us the donkeys had been found.” However, Saul did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship.
Saul Received as King
17 Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah(T) 18 and said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:(U) ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you have rejected your God,(V) who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to him, ‘You[f] must set a king over us.’(W) Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”(X)
20 Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. 21 Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the Matrite clan was selected.[g] Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected.(Y) But when they searched for him, they could not find him. 22 They again inquired of the Lord,(Z) “Has the man come here yet?”
The Lord replied, “There he is, hidden among the supplies.”
23 They ran and got him from there. When he stood among the people, he stood a head taller than anyone else.[h](AA) 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen?(AB) There is no one like him among the entire population.”
And all the people shouted,[i] “Long live the king!” (AC)
25 Samuel proclaimed to the people the rights of kingship.(AD) He wrote them on a scroll, which he placed in the presence of the Lord.(AE) Then Samuel sent all the people home.
26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah,(AF) and brave men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But some wicked men said, “How can this guy save us?” They despised him and did not bring him a gift,(AG) but Saul said nothing.[j][k]
Saul’s Deliverance of Jabesh-gilead
11 Nahash[l](AH) the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead.(AI) All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty(AJ) with us, and we will serve you.”
2 Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I’ll make one with you on this condition: that I gouge out everyone’s right eye(AK) and humiliate all Israel.”(AL)
3 “Don’t do anything to us for seven days,” the elders of Jabesh said to him, “and let us send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If no one saves us, we will surrender to you.”
4 When the messengers came to Gibeah,(AM) Saul’s hometown, and told the terms to the people, all wept aloud.(AN) 5 Just then Saul was coming in from the field behind his oxen. “What’s the matter with the people? Why are they weeping?” Saul inquired, and they repeated to him the words of the men from Jabesh.
6 When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God suddenly came powerfully on him,(AO) and his anger burned furiously. 7 He took a team of oxen, cut them in pieces,(AP) and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by messengers who said, “This is what will be done to the ox of anyone who doesn’t march behind Saul and Samuel.”(AQ) As a result, the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out united.(AR)
8 Saul counted them at Bezek.(AS) There were three hundred thousand[m](AT) Israelites and thirty thousand[n] men from Judah. 9 He told the messengers who had come, “Tell this to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’” So the messengers told the men of Jabesh, and they rejoiced.
10 Then the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will come out, and you can do whatever you want to us.”
11 The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions.(AU) During the morning watch, they invaded the Ammonite camp and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. There were survivors, but they were so scattered that no two of them were left together.
Saul’s Confirmation as King
12 Afterward, the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not[o] reign over us?(AV) Give us those men so we can kill them!” (AW)
13 But Saul ordered, “No one will be executed this day, for today the Lord has provided deliverance in Israel.”(AX)
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal, so we can renew the kingship there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there in the Lord’s presence(AY) they made Saul king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings(AZ) in the Lord’s presence, and Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
43 Jesus answered them, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws[a] him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: (A) And they will all be taught by God.[b](B) Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father(C) comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father(D) except the one who is from God.(E) He has seen the Father.(F)
47 “Truly I tell you, anyone who believes[c] has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna(G) in the wilderness,(H) and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die.(I) 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live(J) forever.(K) The bread that I will give for the life(L) of the world is my flesh.”(M)
52 At that, the Jews argued(N) among themselves,(O) “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man(P) and drink his blood,(Q) you do not have life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood(R) has eternal life, and I will raise(S) him up on the last day, 55 because my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.(T) 57 Just as the living(U) Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live(V) because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the manna[d] your ancestors ate—and they died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”(W)
59 He said these things while teaching in the synagogue(X) in Capernaum.(Y)
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60 Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept[e] it?”
61 Jesus, knowing in himself(Z) that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man(AA) ascending(AB) to where he was before? 63 The Spirit(AC) is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some among you who don’t believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning(AD) those who did not[f] believe and the one who would betray(AE) him.) 65 He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me(AF) unless it is granted to him by the Father.”
66 From that moment[g] many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve,(AG) “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”
68 Simon Peter(AH) answered, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”[h](AI)
70 Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve?(AJ) Yet one of you is a devil.”(AK) 71 He was referring to Judas,(AL) Simon Iscariot’s son,[i] one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray(AM) him.
BOOK V
(Psalms 107–150)
Psalm 107
Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.(A)
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim
that he has redeemed them from the power of the foe(B)
3 and has gathered them from the lands—
from the east and the west,
from the north and the south.(C)
4 Some wandered in the desolate wilderness,
finding no way to a city where they could live.(D)
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
their spirits failed[a] within them.(E)
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
he rescued them from their distress.(F)
7 He led them by the right path
to go to a city where they could live.(G)
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all humanity.(H)
9 For he has satisfied the thirsty
and filled the hungry with good things.(I)
10 Others sat in darkness and gloom[b]—
prisoners in cruel chains(J)—
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the counsel of the Most High.(K)
12 He broke their spirits[c] with hard labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.(L)
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
he saved them from their distress.(M)
14 He brought them out of darkness and gloom
and broke their chains apart.(N)
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all humanity.(O)
16 For he has broken down the bronze gates
and cut through the iron bars.(P)
17 Fools suffered affliction
because of their rebellious ways and their iniquities.(Q)
18 They loathed all food
and came near the gates of death.(R)
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
he saved them from their distress.(S)
20 He sent his word and healed them;
he rescued them from their traps.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all humanity.(T)
22 Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and announce his works with shouts of joy.(U)
23 Others went to sea in ships,
conducting trade on the vast water.(V)
24 They saw the Lord’s works,
his wondrous works in the deep.(W)
25 He spoke and raised a stormy wind
that stirred up the waves of the sea.[d](X)
26 Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths,
their courage[e] melting away in anguish,(Y)
27 they reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
and all their skill was useless.(Z)
28 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.(AA)
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.(AB)
30 They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.
Then he guided them to the harbor they longed for.(AC)
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all humanity.(AD)
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.(AE)
33 He turns rivers into desert,
springs into thirsty ground,(AF)
34 and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(AG)
35 He turns a desert into a pool,
dry land into springs.(AH)
36 He causes the hungry to settle there,
and they establish a city where they can live.(AI)
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.(AJ)
38 He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;(AK)
he does not let their livestock decrease.(AL)
39 When they are diminished and are humbled
by cruel oppression and sorrow,(AM)
40 he pours contempt on nobles(AN)
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.(AO)
41 But he lifts the needy out of their suffering(AP)
and makes their families multiply like flocks.(AQ)
42 The upright see it and rejoice,(AR)
and all injustice shuts its mouth.(AS)
43 Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things
and consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love.(AT)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.