The Daily Audio Bible

The Lord Rejects Saul

15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you to be king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore listen to the voice of the words of the Lord. ² Thus says the Lord of Hosts, ‘I remember what Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. ³ Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not have compassion on them but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”

⁴ So Saul summoned the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵ Then Saul came to the city of Amalek and laid an ambush in the valley. ⁶ Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

⁷ Then Saul struck the Amalekites from Havilah until you come to Shur, which is near Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, and lambs. And of all that was good, they were not willing to utterly destroy them. But everything that was despised and weak, that they completely destroyed.

¹⁰ Then came the word of the Lord to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ “I regret that I have set up Saul to be king because he has turned back from following Me, and he has not carried out My words.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried to the Lord all night.

¹² When Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel and set himself up a monument. Then he turned and has passed on down to Gilgal.”

¹³ Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord. I have carried out the word of the Lord.”

¹⁴ Samuel said, “Then what is the sound of this flock of sheep in my ears? And the sound of the cattle which I am hearing?”

¹⁵ And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and I will tell you what the Lord spoke to me this night.”

And he said to him, “Speak.”

¹⁷ Samuel said, “When you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel? ¹⁸ And the Lord sent you on a journey, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are destroyed.’ ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? And why did you rush upon the spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”

²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. And I have followed in the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ But the people took from the plunder sheep and oxen, the first fruits of the banned things to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

²² Samuel said,

²⁴ Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. For I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. ²⁵ Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”

²⁶ Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

²⁷ As Samuel turned about to go, he seized the edge of his robe and it tore. ²⁸ Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. ²⁹ Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent. For He is not a man, that He should repent.”

³⁰ Then he said, “I have sinned, yet please honor me before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag the king of the Amalekites.”

And Agag came to him reluctantly. But Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

³³ Samuel said,

And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Now Samuel did not see Saul up to the day of his death. But Samuel mourned for Saul and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Samuel Anoints David as King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from ruling over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself from among his sons.”

² Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”

And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do. And you will anoint for Me him whom I tell to you.”

⁴ Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come in peace?”

⁵ And he said, “I have come in peace to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they came, he looked on Eliab, and said, “Surely the anointed of the Lord is before Him.”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ So Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all your young men?”

And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is shepherding the flock.”

Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

¹² So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and a good appearance.

And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”

¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

David Serves Saul

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him.

¹⁵ So the servants of Saul said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God troubles you. ¹⁶ Let our lord now tell your servants, who are before you, that they might seek out a man experienced in playing the lyre. And it will come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he will play with his hand, and you will be well.”

¹⁷ Saul said to his servants, “Find me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.”

¹⁸ Then one from the servants answered, and said, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is experienced in playing music, a mighty man of valor, a man of battle, and skillful in words, even a man of fine appearance. And the Lord is with him.”

¹⁹ Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” ²⁰ Jesse took a donkey laden with bread, a bottle of wine, and a young goat and he sent them with his son David to Saul.

²¹ David came to Saul, and stood before him. And Saul loved him greatly and he became his armor bearer. ²² Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.”

²³ It happened that when the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David would take the lyre in his hand and play. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Early in the morning He returned to the temple. All the people came to Him, and He sat down and taught them. ³ The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery. When they had put her in the middle, ⁴ they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. ⁵ Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such, but what do You say?” ⁶ They said this, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.

But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear them. ⁷ So when they continued asking Him, He stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁹ Being convicted by their conscience, those who heard it went out one by one, beginning with the eldest even to the last. Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰ When Jesus had stood up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?”

¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.”

Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Jesus the Light of the World

¹² Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

¹³ The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself. Your testimony is not true.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered them, “Though I bear witness of Myself, My testimony is true. For I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. ¹⁶ Yet if I do judge, My judgment is true. For I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. ¹⁷ Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true. ¹⁸ I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me bears witness of Me.”

¹⁹ Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”

Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” ²⁰ Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as He taught in the temple. No one arrested Him, for His hour had not yet come.

Psalm 110

A Psalm of David.