The Daily Audio Bible
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8 And it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel.
2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.
3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre and took bribes and perverted judgment.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel at Ramah
5 and said unto him, “Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways. Now make us a king to judge us, like all the nations.”
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.
7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken Me and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice. However, yet protest solemnly unto them and show them the ways of the king that shall reign over them.”
10 And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people who asked of him a king.
11 And he said, “This will be the manner of the king who shall reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands and captains over fifties, and will set them to till his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war and instruments of his chariots.
13 And he will take your daughters to be confectioners and to be cooks and to be bakers.
14 And he will take your fields and your vineyards and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15 And he will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give to his officers and to his servants.
16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
17 He will take a tenth of your sheep; and ye shall be his servants.
18 And ye shall cry out on that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, “Nay; but we will have a king over us,
20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he recounted them in the ears of the Lord.
22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, “Go ye every man unto his city.”
9 Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.
2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly; and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
3 And the asses of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, “Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.”
4 And he passed through Mount Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they were not; and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
5 And when they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let us return, lest my father leave caring for the asses and take thought for us.”
6 And he said unto him, “Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man. All that he saith cometh surely to pass. Now let us go thither. Perhaps he can show us our way that we should go.”
7 Then said Saul to his servant, “But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is spent in our vessels and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What have we?”
8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Behold, I have here at hand a fourth part of a shekel of silver. That will I give to the man of God to tell us our way.”
9 (Before this in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spoke: “Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he that is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)
10 Then said Saul to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
11 And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, “Is the seer here?”
12 And they answered them and said, “He is; behold, he is before you. Make haste now, for he came today to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place.
13 As soon as ye have come into the city, ye shall straightway find him before he go up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that are bidden. Now therefore get you up, for about this time ye shall find him.”
14 And they went up into the city; and when they had come into the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them to go up to the high place.
15 Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,
16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over My people Israel, that he may save My people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come unto Me.”
17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, “Behold the man whom I spoke to thee of! This same shall reign over My people.”
18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is.”
19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go and will tell thee all that is in thine heart.
20 And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them, for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee and on all thy father’s house?”
21 And Saul answered and said, “Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then speakest thou so to me?”
22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and made them sit in the chiefest place among those who were bidden, who were about thirty persons.
23 And Samuel said unto the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, ‘Set it by thee.’”
24 And the cook took up the shoulder and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Behold that which is left! Set it before thee and eat; for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 And when they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house.
26 And they arose early. And it came to pass about the dawn of the day that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, “Up, that I may send thee away.” And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad.
27 And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Bid the servant pass on before us.” (And he passed on.) “But stand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God.”
22 The day following, when the people who stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, save the one into which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not gone with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone
23 (however there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they had eaten bread after the Lord had given thanks)”
24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither His disciples, they also took boats and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
25 And when they had found Him on the other side of the sea, they said unto Him, “Rabbi, when camest thou hither?”
26 Jesus answered them and said, “Verily, verily I say unto you, ye seek Me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye ate of the loaves and were filled.
27 Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you; for on Him hath God the Father set His seal.”
28 Then said they unto Him, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, “This is the work of God: that ye believe in Him whom He hath sent.”
30 They said therefore unto Him, “What sign showest thou then, that we may see and believe thee? What works dost thou do?
31 Our fathers ate manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Then Jesus said unto them, “Verily, verily I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from Heaven, but My Father giveth you the true bread from Heaven.
33 For the bread of God is He that cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”
34 Then they said unto Him, “Lord, evermore give us this bread.”
35 And Jesus said unto them, “I am the Bread of Life. He that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you that ye also have seen Me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from Heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.
39 And this is the Father’s will who hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the Last Day.
40 And this is the will of Him that sent Me: that every one who seeth the Son and believeth in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the Last Day.”
41 The Jews then murmured at Him, because He said, “I am the Bread which came down from Heaven.”
42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, ‘I came down from Heaven’?”
32 They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes,
33 because they provoked his spirit, so that he spoke unadvisedly with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them;
35 but they mingled among the heathen and learned their works,
36 and they served their idols, which were a snare unto them.
37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and daughters unto devils,
38 and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own schemes.
40 Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against His people, insomuch that He abhorred His own inheritance.
41 And He gave them into the hand of the heathen, and they that hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
43 Many times did He deliver them, but they provoked Him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless He regarded their affliction when He heard their cry,
45 and He remembered for them His covenant, and repented according to the multitude of His mercies.
46 He made them also to be pitied by all those that carried them captive.
47 Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto Thy holy name, and to triumph in Thy praise.
48 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting, and let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise ye the Lord!
34 Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
35 The king’s favor is toward a wise servant, but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.