1 Samuel 16

Chapter 16

Samuel Goes to Bethlehem

¹Now the Lord said to Samuel, “^aHow long will you grieve over Saul, since ^bI have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^cFill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to ^dJesse the Bethlehemite, for I have ^eselected a king for Myself among his sons.”

²But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “^aTake a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

³“You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and ^aI will show you what you shall do; and ^byou shall anoint for Me the one whom I ¹designate to you.”

⁴So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to ^aBethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “^bDo you come in peace?”

⁵He said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^aConsecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶When they entered, he looked at ^aEliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.”

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for ¹God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, ^abut the Lord looks at the heart.”

⁸Then Jesse called ^aAbinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”

⁹Next Jesse made ^1aShammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”

¹⁰Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”

¹¹And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “^aThere remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and ¹bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

David Anointed

¹²So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with ^abeautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “^bArise, anoint him; for this is he.”

¹³Then Samuel took the horn of oil and ^aanointed him in the midst of his brothers; and ^bthe Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

^14aNow the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and ^ban evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him.

¹⁵Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you.

¹⁶“Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that ^ahe shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.”

¹⁷So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸Then one of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, ^aa mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and ^bthe Lord is with him.”

¹⁹So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David who is with the flock.”

²⁰Jesse ^atook a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat, and sent them to Saul by David his son.

²¹Then David came to Saul and ^1aattended him; and ²Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.

²²Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.”

²³So it came about whenever ^athe evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.