1 Samuel 16

1 And 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.

The 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."

2 And 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.

Samuel 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.

3 And 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.

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

4 And 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?

And Samuel did what the LORD said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling. And they said, "Is your visit peaceful, seer?"

5 And 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.

And he said, "Peaceful; 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.

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

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

7 But 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.

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For humans do not see as God sees, for humans look at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart."

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

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

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

Then Jesse made Shimeah to pass by. He said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one."

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

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

11 Then 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.

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

12 So 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.

And he sent and brought him in. And he was reddish brown, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him, for he is the one."

13 Then 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.

Then 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.

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

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

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

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

16 Now 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.

Let 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, and it will give you relief."

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

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

18 Then 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.

Then one of the young men answered, and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a warrior, and articulate in speech, and a handsome man; and the LORD is with him."

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

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

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

And Jesse took a donkey and loaded it with an omer of bread, and a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by David his son to Saul.

21 And 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.

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

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

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

23 And 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.

It 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.