1 Samuel 16:1–11
*And the Lord said unto Samuel, aHow long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing bI have rejected him from reigning over Israel? cfill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for dI have provided me a king among his sons. 2 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, eI am come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and fI will shew thee what thou shalt do: and gthou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. 4 And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town htrembled at his †coming, and said, iComest thou peaceably? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: ksanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on ||Eliab, and lsaid, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. 7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on mhis 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 nheart. 8 Then Jesse called oAbinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. 9 Then Jesse made o||Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. 10 Again, Jesse made pseven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, pThere remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, qSend and fetch him: for we will not sit †down till he come hither.