1 Samuel 16–17

Samuel Anoints David

16The Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, ⁱsince I have rejected him as king over Israel? ^jFill your horn with oil ^kand go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem ^lbecause I have selected a king from his sons.”

²Samuel asked, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!”

The Lord answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ^m3Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. ⁿYou are to anoint for Me the one I indicate to you.” ^o

⁴Samuel did what the Lord directed and went to Bethlehem. ^pWhen the elders of the town met him, they trembled ^qand asked, “Do ^ryou come in peace?” ^s

⁵“In peace,” he replied. “I’ve come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves ^tand come with me to the sacrifice.” ^uThen he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁶When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab ^vand said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before Him.”

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, ^wfor man sees what is visible, ^xbut the Lord sees the heart.” ^y

⁸Jesse called Abinadab ^zand presented him to Samuel. “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said. ⁹Then Jesse presented Shammah, ^abut Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.” ¹⁰After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.” ¹¹Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” ^bhe answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.” ¹²So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, ^chandsome appearance. ^d

Then the Lord said, “Anoint him, for he is the one.” ^e13So Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him ^fin the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord took control of David from that day forward. ^gThen Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

David in Saul’s Court

¹⁴Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, ^hand an evil spirit sent from the Lord began to torment him, ¹⁵so Saul’s servants said to him, “You see that an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶Let our lord command your servants here in your presence to look for someone who knows how to play the lyre. Whenever the evil spirit from God troubles you, that person can play the lyre, and you will feel better.” ⁱ

¹⁷Then Saul commanded his servants, “Find me someone who plays well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is also a valiant man, ^ja warrior, eloquent, handsome, and the Lord is with him.” ^k

¹⁹Then Saul dispatched messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” ²⁰So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and one young goat and sent them by his son David to Saul. ^l21When David came to Saul ^mand entered his service, Saul admired him greatly, and David became his armor-bearer. ²²Then Saul sent word to Jesse: “Let David remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.” ²³Whenever the spirit from God troubled Saul, ⁿDavid would pick up his lyre and play, and Saul would then be relieved, feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

David versus Goliath

17The Philistines ^ogathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh ^pand Azekah ^qin Ephes-dammim. ^r2Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; ^sthen they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines.

³The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them. ⁴Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, ^tcame out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall ^uv5and wore a bronze helmet ^wand bronze scale armor that weighed 125 pounds. ^x6There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze sword ^ywas slung between his shoulders. ⁷His spear shaft ^zwas like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed 15 pounds. ^aIn addition, a shield-bearer ^bwas walking in front of him.

⁸He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations: “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? ^cChoose one of your men and have him come down against me. ⁹If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.” ^d10Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today. ^eSend me a man so we can fight each other!” ¹¹When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.

¹²Now David was the son of the Ephrathite ^ffrom Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons ^gand during Saul’s reign was already an old man. ¹³Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war, and their names ^hwere Eliab, the firstborn, Abinadab, the next, and Shammah, the third, ¹⁴and David was the youngest. ⁱThe three oldest had followed Saul, ¹⁵but David kept going back and forth from Saul ^jto tend his father’s flock in Bethlehem.

¹⁶Every morning and evening for 40 days the Philistine came forward and took his stand. ¹⁷One day Jesse had told his son David: “Take this half-bushel ^kof roasted grain along with these 10 loaves of bread ^lfor your brothers and hurry to their camp. ¹⁸Also take these 10 portions of cheese to the field commander. ^mCheck on the welfare of your brothers ⁿand bring a confirmation from them. ¹⁹They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.”

²⁰So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him.

He arrived at the perimeter of the camp ^oas the army was marching out to its battle formation shouting their battle cry. ²¹Israel and the Philistines lined up in battle formation facing each other. ²²David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster ^pand ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were. ²³While he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the Philistine battle line and shouted his usual words, ^qwhich David heard. ²⁴When all the Israelite men saw Goliath, they retreated from him terrified.

²⁵Previously, an Israelite man had declared: “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter. ^rThe king will also make the household of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.” ^s

²⁶David spoke to the men who were standing with him: “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? ^tJust who is this uncircumcised Philistine ^uthat he should defy the armies ^vof the living God?” ^w

²⁷The people told him about the offer, concluding, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.” ^x

²⁸David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and became angry with him. ^y“Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart—you came down to see the battle!”

²⁹“What have I done now?” protested David. “It was just a question.” ³⁰Then he turned from those beside him to others in front of him and asked about the offer. The people gave him the same answer as before. ^z

³¹What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, so he had David brought to him. ³²David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by ^ahim; ^byour servant will go ^cand fight this Philistine!”

³³But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”

³⁴David answered Saul: “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, ³⁵I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. ^dIf it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, ^estrike it down, and kill it. ³⁶Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” ^f

Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” ^g

³⁸Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. ³⁹David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off. ⁴⁰Instead, he took his staff in his hand ^hand chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴²When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him ⁱbecause he was just a youth, healthy ^jkand handsome. ⁴³He said to David, “Am I a dog ^lthat you come against me with sticks?” ^mThen he cursed David by his gods. ⁿ⁴⁴“Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” ^o

⁴⁵David said to the Philistine: “You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies—you have defied Him. ^p46Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off, and give the corpses ^qof the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and…