1 Samuel 16:1–12

David Anointed King

16The Lord said to Samuel, ^r“How long will you grieve over Saul, since ^sI have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^tFill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, ^ufor I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” ²And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ^v‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. ^wAnd you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” ⁴Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city ^xcame to meet him trembling and said, ^y“Do you come peaceably?” ⁵And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^zConsecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶When they came, he looked on ^aEliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” ⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, ^b“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, ^cbut the Lord looks on the heart.” ⁸Then Jesse called ^dAbinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹Then Jesse made ^dShammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, ^e“There remains yet the youngest,¹ but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, ^f“Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” ¹²And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ^gruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ^h“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”