I Samuel 16

¹And the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you go on sorrowing for Saul, seeing that I have put him from his place as king over Israel? Take oil in your vessel and go; I will send you to Jesse, the Beth-lehemite: for I have got a king for myself among his sons.

²And Samuel said, How is it possible for me to go? If Saul gets news of it he will put me to death. And the Lord said, Take a young cow with you and say, I have come to make an offering to the Lord.

³And send for Jesse to be present at the offering, and I will make clear to you what you are to do: and you are to put the holy oil on him whose name I give you.

⁴And Samuel did as the Lord said and came to Beth-lehem. And the responsible men of the town came out to him in fear and said, Do you come in peace?

⁵And he said, In peace: I have come to make an offering to the Lord: make yourselves clean and come with me to make the offering. And he made Jesse and his sons clean, and sent for them to be present at the offering.

⁶Now when they came, looking at Eliab, he said, Clearly the man of the Lord's selection is before him.

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not take note of his face or how tall he is, because I will not have him: for the Lord's view is not man's; man takes note of the outer form, but the Lord sees the heart.

⁸Then Jesse sent for Abinadab and made him come before Samuel. And he said, The Lord has not taken this one.

⁹Then Jesse made Shammah come before him. And he said, The Lord has not taken this one.

¹⁰And Jesse made his seven sons come before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not taken any of these.

¹¹Then Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your children here? And he said, There is still the youngest, and he is looking after the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and make him come here: for we will not take our seats till he is here.

¹²So he sent and made him come in. Now he had red hair and beautiful eyes and pleasing looks. And the Lord said, Come, put the oil on him, for this is he.

¹³Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on him there among his brothers: and from that day the spirit of the Lord came on David with power. So Samuel went back to Ramah.

¹⁴Now the spirit of the Lord had gone from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord was troubling him.

¹⁵And Saul's servants said to him, See now, an evil spirit from God is troubling you.

¹⁶Now give orders to your servants who are here before you to go in search of a man who is an expert player on a corded instrument: and it will be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will make music for you on his instrument, and you will get well.

¹⁷And Saul said to his servants, Then get me a man who is an expert player, and make him come to me.

¹⁸Then one of the servants in answer said, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Beth-lehemite, who is expert at playing, and a strong man and a man of war; and he is wise in his words, and pleasing in looks, and the Lord is with him.

¹⁹So Saul sent his servants to Jesse and said, Send me your son David who is with the sheep.

²⁰And Jesse took five cakes of bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David.

²¹And David came to Saul, waiting before him: and he became very dear to Saul, who made him his servant, giving him the care of his arms.

²²And Saul sent to Jesse saying, Let David be with me, for he is pleasing to me.

²³And whenever the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David took his instrument and made music: so new life came to Saul, and he got well, and the evil spirit went away from him.

I Samuel 16

¹The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided a king for myself among his sons."

²Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." The Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.

³Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint to me him whom I name to you."

⁴Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?"

⁵He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." He sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

⁶It happened, when they had come, that he looked at Eliab, and said, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before him."

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his face, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for I see not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."

⁹Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."

¹⁰Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these."

¹¹Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your children here?" He said, "There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is keeping the sheep." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him; for we will not sit down until he comes here."

¹²He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful face, and goodly to look on. The Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he."

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

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

¹⁵Saul's servants said to him, "See now, an evil spirit from God troubles you.

¹⁶Let our lord now command your servants who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. It shall happen, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play with his hand, and you shall be well."

¹⁷Saul said to his servants, "Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me."

¹⁸Then one of the young men answered, and said, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a comely person; and the Lord is with him."

¹⁹Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, "Send me David your son, who is with the sheep."

²⁰Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by David his son to Saul.

²¹David came to Saul, and stood before him. He loved him greatly; and he became his armor bearer.

²²Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Please let David stand before me; for he has found favor in my sight."

²³It happened, when the spirit from God was on Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.