Kings I 16

1 And the Lord said to Samuel, How long do you mourn for Saul, whereas I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and come, I will send you to Jessae, to Bethleem; for I have seen among his sons a king for me.

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.

2 And Samuel said, How can I go? whereas Saul will hear of it, and kill me: and the Lord said, Take a heifer in your hand and you shall say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.

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.

3 And you shall call Jessae to the sacrifice, and I will make known to you what you shall do; and you shall anoint him whom I shall mention to you.

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.

4 And Samuel did all that the Lord told him; and he came to Bethleem: and the elders of the city were amazed at meeting him, and said, Do you come peaceably, you Seer?

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?

5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and rejoice with me this day: and he sanctified Jessae and his sons, and he called them to the sacrifice.

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.

6 And it came to pass when they came in, that he saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed [is] before him.

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

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance, nor on his stature, for I have rejected him; for God sees not as man looks; for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

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.

8 And Jessae called Aminadab, and he passed before Samuel: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one.

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

9 And Jessae caused Sama to pass by: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one.

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

10 And Jessae caused his seven sons to pass before Samuel: and Samuel said, the Lord has not chosen these.

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

11 And Samuel said to Jessae, Hast you no more sons? And Jessae said, [There is] yet a little one; behold, he tends the flock. And Samuel said to Jessae, Send and fetch him for we may not sit down till he comes.

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.

12 And he sent and fetched him: and he was ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and very goodly to behold. And the Lord said to Samuel, Arise, and anoint David, for he is good.

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.

13 And 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: and Samuel arose, and departed to Armathaim.

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.

14 And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

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

15 And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, and evil spirit from the Lord torments you.

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

16 Let now your servants speak before you, and let them seek for our lord a man skilled to play on the harp; and it shall come to pass when an evil spirit comes upon you and he shall play on his harp, that you shall be well, and he shall refresh you.

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.

17 And Saul said to his servants, Look now out for me a skillful player, and bring him to me.

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

18 And one of his servants answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jessae the Bethleemite, and he understands playing [on the harp], and the man [is] prudent, and a warrior, and wise in speech, and the man [is] handsome, and the Lord [is] with him.

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.

19 And Saul sent messengers to Jessae, saying, Send to me your son David who is with your flock.

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

20 And Jessae took a homer of bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sent them by the hand of his son David to Saul.

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

21 And David went in to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armor-bearer.

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.

22 And Saul sent to Jessae, saying, Let David, I pray you, stand before me, for he has found grace in my eyes.

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

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

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.