1 Samuel 16

1 And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Till when art thou mourning for Saul, and I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I send thee unto Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, for I have seen among his sons for Myself a king.

And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

2 And Samuel saith, 'How do I go? when Saul hath heard, then he hath slain me.' And Jehovah saith, 'A heifer of the herd thou dost take in thy hand, and hast said, To sacrifice to Jehovah I have come;

And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear [it], he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

3 and thou hast called for Jesse in the sacrifice, and I cause thee to know that which thou dost do, and thou hast anointed to Me him of whom I speak unto thee.'

And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me [him] whom I name unto thee.

4 And Samuel doth that which Jehovah hath spoken, and cometh in to Beth-Lehem, and the elders of the city tremble to meet him, and [one] saith, 'Is thy coming peace?'

And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

5 and he saith, 'Peace; to sacrifice to Jehovah I have come, sanctify yourselves, and ye have come in with me to the sacrifice;' and he sanctifieth Jesse and his sons, and calleth them to the sacrifice.

And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

6 And it cometh to pass, in their coming in, that he seeth Eliab, and saith, 'Surely, before Jehovah [is] His anointed.'

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed [is] before him.

7 And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Look not unto his appearance, and unto the height of his stature, for I have rejected him; for [it is] not as man seeth — for man looketh at the eyes, and Jehovah looketh at the heart.'

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for [the Lord seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

8 And Jesse calleth unto Abinadab, and causeth him to pass by before Samuel; and he saith, 'Also on this Jehovah hath not fixed.'

Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

9 And Jesse causeth Shammah to pass by, and he saith, 'Also on this Jehovah hath not fixed.'

Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

10 And Jesse causeth seven of his sons to pass by before Samuel, and Samuel saith to Jesse, 'Jehovah hath not fixed on these.'

Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.

11 And Samuel saith unto Jesse, 'Are the young men finished?' and he saith, 'Yet hath been left the youngest; and lo, he delighteth himself among the flock;' and Samuel saith unto Jesse, 'Send and take him, for we do not turn round till his coming in hither.'

And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all [thy] children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

12 And he sendeth, and bringeth him in, and he [is] ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and of good appearance; and Jehovah saith, 'Rise, anoint him, for this [is] he.'

And he sent, and brought him in. Now he [was] ruddy, [and] withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this [is] he.

13 And Samuel taketh the horn of oil, and anointeth him in the midst of his brethren, and prosper over David doth the Spirit of Jehovah from that day and onwards; and Samuel riseth and goeth to Ramath.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

14 And the Spirit of Jehovah turned aside from Saul, and a spirit of sadness from Jehovah terrified him;

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

15 and the servants of Saul say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, a spirit of sadness [from] God is terrifying thee;

And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

16 let our lord command, we pray thee, thy servants before thee, they seek a skilful man, playing on a harp, and it hath come to pass, in the spirit of sadness [from] God being upon thee, that he hath played with his hand, and [it is] well with thee.'

Let our lord now command thy servants, [which are] before thee, to seek out a man, [who is] a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

17 And Saul saith unto his servants, 'Provide, I pray you, for me a man playing well — then ye have brought [him] in unto me.'

And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring [him] to me.

18 And one of the servants answereth and saith, 'Lo, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, skilful in playing, and a mighty virtuous man, and a man of battle, and intelligent in word, and a man of form, and Jehovah [is] with him.'

Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, [that is] cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD [is] with him.

19 And Saul sendeth messengers unto Jesse, and saith, 'Send unto me David thy son, who [is] with the flock.'

Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which [is] with the sheep.

20 And Jesse taketh an ass, [with] bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sendeth by the hand of David his son unto Saul.

And Jesse took an ass [laden] with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent [them] by David his son unto Saul.

21 And David cometh in unto Saul, and standeth before him, and he loveth him greatly; and he is a bearer of his weapons.

And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.

22 And Saul sendeth unto Jesse, saying, 'Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he hath found grace in mine eyes.'

And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.

23 And it hath come to pass, in the spirit of [sadness from] God being on Saul, that David hath taken the harp, and played with his hand, and Saul hath refreshment and gladness, and the spirit of sadness hath turned aside from off him.

And it came to pass, when the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.