Old/New Testament
Saul Rejected as King
15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to appoint you king over Israel. Now listen to his message. 2 This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘The Israelites came out of Egypt. But the Amalekites tried to stop them from going to Canaan. I saw what they did. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites. Destroy everything that belongs to them as an offering to the Lord. Don’t let anything live. Put to death men and women, children and small babies. Kill the cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
4 So Saul called the army together at Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers and 10,000 men from Judah. 5 Then Saul went to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the ravine. 6 He said to the Kenites, “Go away. Leave the Amalekites so that I won’t destroy you with them. You showed kindness to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul defeated the Amalekites. He fought them all the way from Havilah to Shur, at the border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive. But he killed all of Agag’s army with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army let Agag live. They also let the best sheep, fat cattle and lambs live. They let every good animal live. They did not want to destroy them. But when they found an animal that was weak or useless, they killed it.
10 Then the Lord spoke his word to Samuel: 11 “Saul has stopped following me. And I am sorry I made him king. He has not obeyed my commands.” Samuel was upset, and he cried out to the Lord all night long.
12 Early the next morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul. But the people told Samuel, “Saul has gone to Carmel. He has put up a monument in his own honor. Now he has gone down to Gilgal.”
13 Then Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said, “May the Lord bless you! I have obeyed the Lord’s commands.”
14 But Samuel said, “Then why do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?”
15 Saul answered, “The soldiers took them from the Amalekites. They saved the best sheep and cattle to offer as sacrifices to the Lord your God. But we destroyed all the other animals.”
16 Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
Saul answered, “Tell me.”
17 Samuel said, “Once you didn’t think much of yourself. But now you have become the leader of the tribes of Israel. The Lord appointed you to be king over Israel. 18 And he told you to do something. He said, ‘Go and destroy those evil people, the Amalekites. Make war on them until all of them are dead.’ 19 Why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you take the best things? Why did you do what the Lord said was wrong?”
20 Saul said, “But I did obey the Lord. I did what the Lord told me to do. I destroyed all the Amalekites. And I brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel answered,
“What pleases the Lord more:
burnt offerings and sacrifices or obedience?
It is better to obey God than to offer a sacrifice.
It is better to listen to God than to offer the fat of male sheep.
23 Refusing to obey is as bad as the sin of sorcery.
Being stubborn is as bad as the sin of worshiping idols.
You have rejected the Lord’s command.
For this reason, he now rejects you as king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I didn’t obey the Lord’s commands. I didn’t do what you told me. I was afraid of the people, and I did what they said. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin. Come back with me so I may worship the Lord.”
26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I won’t go back with you. You refused the Lord’s command. And now he rejects you as king of Israel.”
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. He has given it to one of your neighbors. He has given it to one better than you. 29 The Lord is the Eternal One of Israel. He does not lie or change his mind. He is not a man. So he does not change his mind as men do.”
30 Saul answered, “I have sinned. But please honor me in front of my people’s elders. Please honor me in front of the Israelites. Come back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”
Agag came to Samuel in chains. Yet Agag thought, “Surely the threat of death has passed.”
33 Samuel said to him, “Your sword caused mothers to be without their children. Now your mother will have no children.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel left and went to Ramah. But Saul went up to his home in Gibeah. 35 And Samuel never saw Saul again all the rest of his life. But he was sorry for Saul. And the Lord was very sorry he had made Saul king of Israel.
Samuel Goes to Bethlehem
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you continue to feel sorry for Saul? I have rejected him as king of Israel. Fill your container with olive oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse who lives in Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
2 But Samuel said, “If I go, Saul will hear the news. And he will try to kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a young calf with you. Say, ‘I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice. Then I will show you what to do. You must appoint the one I show you.”
4 Samuel did what the Lord told him to do. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of Bethlehem shook with fear. They met him and asked, “Are you coming in peace?”
5 Samuel answered, “Yes, I come in peace. I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Make yourselves holy for the Lord and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he made Jesse and his sons holy for the Lord. And he invited them to come to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab. Samuel thought, “Surely the Lord has appointed this person standing here before him.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t look at how handsome Eliab is. Don’t look at how tall he is. I have not chosen him. God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and told him to pass by Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this man either.” 9 Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “No, the Lord has not chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass by Samuel. But Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”
11 Then he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse answered, “I still have the youngest son. He is out taking care of the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him. We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
12 So Jesse sent and had his youngest son brought in. He was a fine boy, tanned and handsome.
The Lord said to Samuel, “Go! Appoint him. He is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the container of olive oil. Then he poured oil on Jesse’s youngest son to appoint him in front of his brothers. From that day on, the Lord’s Spirit entered David with power. Samuel then went back to Ramah.
David Serves Saul
14 But the Lord’s Spirit had gone out of Saul. And an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
15 Saul’s servants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is troubling you. 16 Give us the command. We will look for someone who can play the harp. When the evil spirit from the Lord enters you, he will play. Then the evil spirit will leave you alone. And you will feel better.”
17 So Saul said to his servants, “Find someone. If he plays well, bring him to me.”
18 One of the servants said, “Jesse of Bethlehem has a son who plays the harp. I have seen him play it. He is a brave man and fights well. He is a good speaker and handsome. And the Lord is with him.”
19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse. The message said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 20 So Jesse loaded a donkey with bread and a leather bag full of wine. He also took a young goat. He sent them all with his son David to Saul.
21 When David came to Saul, he began to serve him. Saul loved David very much. And David became the officer who carried Saul’s armor. 22 Saul sent a message to Jesse. He said, “Let David stay and serve me. I like him.”
23 When the evil spirit from God entered Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then the evil spirit would go out of him. And Saul would feel relief. He would feel better again.
The Good Samaritan
25 Then a teacher of the law stood up. He was trying to test Jesus. He said, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?”
26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
27 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God. Love him with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.”[a] Also, “You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.”[b]
28 Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will have life forever.”
29 But the man wanted to show that the way he was living was right. So he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 To answer this question, Jesus said, “A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes and beat him. Then they left him lying there, almost dead. 31 It happened that a Jewish priest was going down that road. When the priest saw the man, he walked by on the other side of the road. 32 Next, a Levite[c] came there. He went over and looked at the man. Then he walked by on the other side of the road. 33 Then a Samaritan[d] traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was lying. He saw the man and felt very sorry for him. 34 The Samaritan went to him and poured olive oil and wine[e] on his wounds and bandaged them. He put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn. At the inn, the Samaritan took care of him. 35 The next day, the Samaritan brought out two silver coins[f] and gave them to the innkeeper. The Samaritan said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”
36 Then Jesus said, “Which one of these three men do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the robbers?”
37 The teacher of the law answered, “The one who helped him.”
Jesus said to him, “Then go and do the same thing he did!”
Mary and Martha
38 While Jesus and his followers were traveling, Jesus went into a town. A woman named Martha let Jesus stay at her house. 39 Martha had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. 40 Martha became angry because she had so much work to do. She went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. 42 Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will never be taken away from her.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.