The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday May 14, 2017 (NIV)

Saul Disobeys the Lord

15 Samuel told Saul, “Yahweh sent me to anoint you king of his people Israel. Now listen to Yahweh’s words. ² This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says: I will punish Amalek for what they did to Israel. They blocked Israel’s way after the Israelites came from Egypt. ³ Now go and attack Amalek. Claim everything they have for God by destroying it. Don’t spare them, but kill men and women, infants and children, cows and sheep, camels and donkeys.”

⁴ Saul organized the troops, and he counted them at Telaim: 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men from Judah. ⁵ Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. ⁶ Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Get away from the Amalekites so that I won’t destroy you with them. You were kind to all the Israelites when they came from Egypt.” So the Kenites left the Amalekites.

⁷ Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt. ⁸ He captured King Agag of Amalek alive. But he claimed all the people for God by destroying them. ⁹ Saul and the army spared Agag and the best sheep and cows, the fattened animals, the lambs, and all the best property. The army refused to claim them for God by destroying them. But everything that was worthless and weak the army did claim for God and destroy.

The Lord Rejects Saul

¹⁰ Then Yahweh spoke to Samuel: ¹¹ “I regret that I made Saul king. He turned away from me and did not carry out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he prayed to Yahweh all night. ¹² Early in the morning he got up to meet Saul. Samuel was told, “Saul went to Carmel to set up a monument in his honor. Then he left there and went to Gilgal.”

¹³ Samuel came to Saul, who said, “Yahweh bless you. I carried out Yahweh’s instructions.”

¹⁴ However, Samuel asked,

¹⁵ Saul answered, “The army brought them from the Amalekites. They spared the best sheep and cows to sacrifice to Yahweh your Elohim. But the rest they claimed for God and destroyed.”

¹⁶ “Be quiet,” Samuel told Saul, “and let me tell you what Yahweh told me last night.”

“Speak,” Saul replied.

¹⁷ Samuel said, “Even though you don’t consider yourself great, you were the head of Israel’s tribes. Yahweh anointed you king of Israel. ¹⁸ And Yahweh sent you on a mission. He said, ‘Claim those sinners, the Amalekites, for me by destroying them. Wage war against them until they’re wiped out.’ ¹⁹ Why didn’t you obey Yahweh? Why have you taken their belongings and done what Yahweh considers evil?”

²⁰ “But I did obey Yahweh,” Saul told Samuel. “I went where Yahweh sent me, brought back King Agag of Amalek, and claimed the Amalekites for God. ²¹ The army took some of their belongings—the best sheep and cows were claimed for God—in order to sacrifice to Yahweh your Elohim in Gilgal.”

²² Then Samuel said,

²⁴ Then Saul told Samuel, “I have sinned by not following Yahweh’s command or your instructions. I was afraid of the people and listened to them. ²⁵ Now please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship Yahweh.”

²⁶ Samuel told Saul, “I will not go back with you because you rejected what Yahweh told you. So Yahweh rejects you as king of Israel.” ²⁷ When Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ Samuel told him, “Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. He has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. ²⁹ In addition, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind, because he is not a mortal who changes his mind.”

³⁰ Saul replied, “I have sinned! Now please honor me in front of the leaders of my people and in front of Israel. Come back with me, and let me worship Yahweh your Elohim.” ³¹ Then Samuel turned and followed Saul, and Saul worshiped Yahweh.

³² “Bring me King Agag of Amalek,” Samuel said.

Agag came to him trembling.^[a] “Surely, the bitterness of death is past,”^[b] Agag said.

³³ But Samuel said, “As your sword made women childless, so your mother will be made childless among women.” And Samuel cut Agag in pieces in the presence of Yahweh at Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went to his home at Gibeah. ³⁵ Samuel didn’t see Saul again before he died, though Samuel mourned over Saul. And Yahweh regretted that he had made Saul king of Israel.

David Chosen to Be King

16 Yahweh asked Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul now that I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill a flask with olive oil and go. I’m sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem because I’ve selected one of his sons to be king.”

² “How can I go?” Samuel asked. “When Saul hears about it, he’ll kill me.”

Yahweh said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I’ve come to sacrifice to Yahweh.’ ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice. I will reveal to you what you should do, and you will anoint for me the one I point out to you.”

⁴ Samuel did what Yahweh told him. When he came to Bethlehem, the leaders of the city, trembling with fear, greeted him and said, “May peace be with you.”

⁵ “Greetings,” he replied, “I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Perform the ceremonies to make yourselves holy, and come with me to the sacrifice.” He performed the ceremonies for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁶ When they came, he saw Eliab and thought, “Certainly, here in Yahweh’s presence is his anointed king.”

⁷ But Yahweh told Samuel, “Don’t look at his appearance or how tall he is, because I have rejected him. Elohim does not see as humans see.^[c] Humans look at outward appearances, but Yahweh looks into the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and brought him to Samuel. But Samuel said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one either.”

⁹ Then Jesse had Shammah come to Samuel. “Yahweh has not chosen this one either,” Samuel said. ¹⁰ So Jesse brought seven more of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel told Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen any of these. ¹¹ Are these all the sons you have?”

“There’s still the youngest one,” Jesse answered. “He’s tending the sheep.”

Samuel told Jesse, “Send someone to get him. We won’t continue until he gets here.”

¹² So Jesse sent for him. He had a healthy complexion, attractive eyes, and a handsome appearance. Yahweh said, “Go ahead, anoint him. He is the one.” ¹³ Samuel took the flask of olive oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers. The Ruach Yahweh came over David and stayed with him from that day on. Then Samuel left for Ramah.

David Plays the Lyre for Saul

¹⁴ Now, the Ruach Yahweh had left Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him. ¹⁵ Saul’s officials told him, “An evil spirit from Elohim is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Your Majesty, why don’t you command us to look for a man who can play the lyre well? When the evil spirit from Elohim comes to you, he’ll strum a tune, and you’ll feel better.”

¹⁷ Saul told his officials, “Please find me a man who can play well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸ One of the officials said, “I know one of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem who can play well. He’s a courageous man and a warrior. He has a way with words, he is handsome, and Yahweh is with him.”

¹⁹ Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”

²⁰ Jesse took six bushels of bread, a full wineskin, and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. ²¹ David came to Saul and served him. Saul loved him very much and made David his armorbearer. ²² Saul sent this message to Jesse, “Please let David stay with me because I have grown fond of him.”

²³ Whenever Elohim’s spirit came to Saul, David took the lyre and strummed a tune. Saul got relief from his terror and felt better, and the evil spirit left him.

A Woman Caught in Adultery

8 Yeshua went to the Mount of Olives. ² Early the next morning he returned to the temple courtyard. All the people went to him, so he sat down and began to teach them.

³ The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of everyone ⁴ and asked Yeshua, “Teacher, we caught this woman in the act of adultery. ⁵ In his teachings, Moses ordered us to stone women like this to death. What do you say?” ⁶ They asked this to test him. They wanted to find a reason to bring charges against him.

Yeshua bent down and used his finger to write on the ground. ⁷ When they persisted in asking him questions, he straightened up and said, “The person who is sinless should be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground.

⁹ One by one, beginning with the older men, the experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees left. Yeshua was left alone with the woman. ¹⁰ Then Yeshua straightened up and asked her, “Where did they go? Has anyone condemned you?”

¹¹ The woman answered, “No one, sir.”

Yeshua said, “I don’t condemn you either. Go! From now on don’t sin.”

Jesus Speaks with the Pharisees about His Father

¹² Yeshua spoke to the Pharisees again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have a life filled with light and will never live in the dark.”

¹³ The Pharisees said to him, “You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony isn’t true.”

¹⁴ Yeshua replied to them, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is true because I know where I came from and where I’m going. However, you don’t know where I came from or where I’m going. ¹⁵ You judge the way humans do. I don’t judge anyone. ¹⁶ Even if I do judge, my judgment is valid because I don’t make it on my own. I make my judgment with the Father who sent me. ¹⁷ Your own teachings say that the testimony of two people is true. ¹⁸ I testify on my own behalf, and so does the Father who sent me.”

¹⁹ The Pharisees asked him, “Where is your father?”

Yeshua replied, “You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”

²⁰ Yeshua spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury area of the temple courtyard. No one arrested him, because his time had not yet come.

Psalm 110

A psalm by David.