The Daily Audio Bible
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Israel Asks for a King
8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges for Israel. 2 His first son was named Joel, and his second son was named Abijah. Joel and Abijah were judges in Beersheba. 3 But Samuel’s sons did not live as he did. They tried to get money dishonestly. They took money secretly to be dishonest in their judging.
4 So all the elders came together and met Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You’re old, and your sons don’t live as you do. Give us a king to rule over us like all the other nations.”
6 When the elders said that, Samuel was not pleased. He prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to whatever the people say to you. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me from being their king. 8 They are doing as they have always done. When I took them out of Egypt, they left me. They served other gods. They are doing the same to you. 9 Now listen to the people. But give them a warning. Tell them what the king who rules over them will do.”
10 Samuel answered those who had asked him for a king. He told them all the words of the Lord. 11 Samuel said, “If you have a king ruling over you, this is what he will do: He will take your sons. He will make them serve with his chariots and his horses. They will run in front of the king’s chariot. 12 The king will make some of your sons commanders over 1,000 men or over 50 men. He will make some of your other sons plow his ground and reap his harvest. He will take others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 This king will take your daughters. Some of your daughters will make perfume. Others will cook and bake for him. 14 He will take your best fields, vineyards and olive groves. He will give them to his servants. 15 He will take one-tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers and servants. 16 He will take your men servants and girl servants. He will take your best cattle and your donkeys. He will use them all for his own work. 17 He will take one-tenth of your flocks. And you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that time comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose. The Lord will not answer you then.”
19 But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We want a king to rule over us. 20 Then we will be the same as all the other nations. Our king will judge us. He will go with us and fight our battles.”
21 Samuel heard all that the people said. Then he repeated all their words to the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, “You must listen to them. Give them a king.”
Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Everyone go back to his town.”
Saul Looks for His Father’s Donkeys
9 Kish son of Abiel was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was an important man. (Abiel was the son of Zeror. And Zeror was the son of Becorath. He was the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.) 2 Kish had a son named Saul. Saul was a fine young man. There was no Israelite better than he. Saul stood a head taller than any other man in Israel.
3 Now the donkeys of Saul’s father, Kish, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, his son, “Take one of the servants. Go and look for the donkeys.” 4 Saul went through the mountains of Ephraim. And he went through the land of Shalisha. But he and the servant could not find the donkeys. They went into the land of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. They went through the land of Benjamin. But they still did not find the donkeys. 5 They arrived in the area of Zuph. Saul said to his servant, “Let’s go back. My father will stop thinking about the donkeys. He will start worrying about us.”
6 But the servant answered, “A man of God is in this town. People respect him because everything he says comes true. Let’s go into the town now. Maybe he can tell us something about the journey we have taken.”
7 Saul said to his servant, “If we go into the town, what can we give him? The food in our bags is gone. We have no gift to give him. Do we have anything at all to give him?”
8 Again the servant answered Saul. “Look, I have one-tenth of an ounce of silver. Give it to the man of God. Then he will tell us about our journey.” 9 (In the past, someone in Israel might want to ask something from God. If so, he would say, “Let’s go to the seer.” We call the person a man of God today. But in the past he was called a “seer.”)
10 Saul said to his servant, “That is a good idea. Come, let’s go.” So they went toward the town where the man of God was.
11 Saul and the servant were going up the hill to the town. On the way they met some young women coming out to get water. Saul and the servant asked them, “Is the seer here?”
12 The young women answered, “Yes, he’s here. He’s ahead of you. Hurry now. He has just come to our town today. This is because the people will offer a sacrifice at the place of worship. 13 When you enter the town, you will find him. He will be there before he goes up to the place of worship to eat. The people will not begin eating until the seer comes. He must bless the sacrifice. After that, the guests will eat. Go now, and you should find him.”
Saul Meets Samuel
14 Saul and the servant went up to the town. Just as they entered the town, they saw Samuel. He was on his way up to the place of worship. So he was coming out of the city toward them.
15 The day before Saul came, the Lord had told Samuel: 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man. He will be from Benjamin. You must appoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the Philistines. I have seen the suffering of my people. I have listened to their cry.”
17 When Samuel first saw Saul, the Lord spoke to Samuel. He said, “This is the man I told you about. He will rule my people.”
18 Saul came near Samuel at the gate. Saul said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”
19 Samuel answered, “I am the seer. Go ahead of me to the place of worship. Today you and your servant are to eat with me. Tomorrow morning I will send you home. And I will answer all your questions. 20 Don’t worry about the donkeys you lost three days ago. They have been found. Israel now wants you and all your father’s family.”
21 Saul answered, “But I am from the tribe of Benjamin. It’s the smallest tribe in Israel. And my family group is the smallest in the tribe of Benjamin. Why do you say Israel wants me?”
22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant into a large room. He gave them a chief place at the table. About 30 guests were there. 23 Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the meat I gave you. It’s the portion I told you to set aside.”
24 So the cook took the thigh and put it on the table in front of Saul. Samuel said, “This is the meat saved for you. Eat it because it was set aside for you for this special time. As I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 After they finished eating, they came down from the place of worship. They went to the town. Then Samuel talked with Saul on the roof[a] of his house. 26 At dawn they got up, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof. He said, “Get up, and I will send you on your way.” So Saul got up. He went out of the house with Samuel. 27 Saul, his servant and Samuel were getting near the edge of the city. Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us. I have a message from God for you.”
The People Seek Jesus
22 The next day came. Some people had stayed on the other side of the lake. They knew that Jesus had not gone in the boat with his followers but that they had left without him. And they knew that only one boat had been there. 23 But then some boats came from Tiberias. They landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 The people saw that Jesus and his followers were not there now. So they got into boats and went to Capernaum. They wanted to find Jesus.
Jesus, the Bread of Life
25 The people found Jesus on the other side of the lake. They asked him, “Teacher, when did you come here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Are you looking for me because you saw me do miracles? No! I tell you the truth. You are looking for me because you ate the bread and were satisfied. 27 Earthly food spoils and ruins. So don’t work to get that kind of food. But work to get the food that stays good always and gives you eternal life. The Son of Man will give you that food. God the Father has shown that he is with the Son of Man.”
28 The people asked Jesus, “What are the things God wants us to do?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: to believe in the One that God sent.”
30 So the people asked, “What miracle will you do? If we can see a miracle, then we will believe you. What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the desert. This is written in the Scriptures: ‘God gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”[a]
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth. Moses was not the one who gave you bread from heaven. But my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 God’s bread is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 The people said, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Then Jesus said, “I am the bread that gives life. He who comes to me will never be hungry. He who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you before, you have seen me, and still you don’t believe. 37 The Father gives me the people who are mine. Every one of them will come to me, and I will always accept them. 38 I came down from heaven to do what God wants me to do. I did not come to do what I want to do. 39 I must not lose even one of those that God has given me, but I must raise them up on the last day. This is what the One who sent me wants me to do. 40 Everyone who sees the Son and believes in him has eternal life. I will raise him up on the last day. This is what my Father wants.”
41 The Jews began to complain about Jesus. They complained because he said, “I am the bread that comes down from heaven.” 42 The Jews said, “This is Jesus. We know his father and mother. He is only Joseph’s son. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
32 The people also made the Lord angry at Meribah.
And Moses was in trouble because of them.
33 The people turned against the Spirit of God.
So Moses spoke without stopping to think.
34 The people did not destroy the other nations
as the Lord had told them to do.
35 Instead, they mixed with the other nations.
And they learned their customs.
36 They worshiped other nations’ idols.
And they were trapped by them.
37 They even killed their sons and daughters
as sacrifices to demons.
38 They killed innocent people.
They killed their own sons and daughters
as sacrifices to the idols of Canaan.
So the land was made unholy by their blood.
39 The people became unholy by their sins.
They were unfaithful to God in what they did.
40 So the Lord became angry with his people.
He hated his own children.
41 He let other nations defeat them.
He let their enemies rule over them.
42 Their enemies were cruel to them.
Their enemies kept them under their power.
43 The Lord saved his people many times.
But they continued to turn against him.
So they became even more wicked.
44 But God saw their misery.
He heard their cry.
45 He remembered his agreement with them.
And he felt sorry for them because of his great love.
46 He caused them to be pitied
by those who held them captive.
47 Lord our God, save us.
Bring us back from other nations.
Then we will thank you.
Then we will gladly praise you.
48 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
He always was and always will be.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
34 Doing what is right makes a nation great.
But sin will bring disgrace to any people.
35 A king is pleased with a wise servant.
But he will become angry with one who causes him shame.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.