1 Samuel 16–17

Samuel Goes to Bethlehem

16The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you continue to feel sorry for Saul? I have rejected him as king of Israel. Fill your container with olive oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse who lives in Bethlehem, because I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

²But Samuel said, “If I go, Saul will hear the news and will try to kill me.”

The Lord said, “Take a young calf with you. Say, ‘I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³Invite Jesse to the sacrifice. Then I will tell you what to do. You must appoint the one I show you.”

⁴Samuel did what the Lord told him to do. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of Bethlehem shook with fear. They met him and asked, “Are you coming in peace?”

⁵Samuel answered, “Yes, I come in peace. I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Set yourselves apart to the Lord and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he set Jesse and his sons apart to the Lord, and he invited them to come to the sacrifice.

⁶When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab, and he thought, “Surely the Lord has appointed this person standing here before him.”

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t look at how handsome Eliab is or how tall he is, because I have not chosen him. God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab and told him to pass by Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this man either.” ⁹Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “No, the Lord has not chosen this one.” ¹⁰Jesse had seven of his sons pass by Samuel. But Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”

¹¹Then he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

Jesse answered, “I still have the youngest son. He is out taking care of the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him. We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

¹²So Jesse sent and had his youngest son brought in. He was a fine boy, tanned, and handsome.

The Lord said to Samuel, “Go, appoint him, because he is the one.”

¹³So Samuel took the container of olive oil and poured it on Jesse’s youngest son to appoint him in front of his brothers. From that day on, the Lord’s Spirit worked in David. Samuel then went back to Ramah.

David Serves Saul

¹⁴But the Lord’s Spirit had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.

¹⁵Saul’s servants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is troubling you. ¹⁶Give us the command to look for someone who can play the harp. When the evil spirit from God troubles you, he will play, and you will feel better.”

¹⁷So Saul said to his servants, “Find someone who can play well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸One of the servants said, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem play the harp. He is brave and courageous. He is a good speaker and handsome, and the Lord is with him.”

¹⁹Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse, saying, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” ²⁰So Jesse loaded a donkey with bread, a leather bag full of wine, and a young goat, and he sent them with his son David to Saul.

²¹When David came to Saul, he began to serve him. Saul liked David and made him the officer who carried his armor. ²²Saul sent a message to Jesse, saying, “Let David stay and serve me because I like him.”

²³When the evil spirit from God troubled Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then the evil spirit would leave him, and Saul would feel better.

David and Goliath

17The Philistines gathered their armies for war. They met at Socoh in Judah and camped at Ephes Dammim between Socoh and Azekah. ²Saul and the Israelites gathered in the Valley of Elah and camped there and took their positions to fight the Philistines. ³The Philistines controlled one hill while the Israelites controlled another. The valley was between them.

⁴The Philistines had a champion fighter from Gath named Goliath. He was about nine feet, four inches tall. He came out of the Philistine camp ⁵with a bronze helmet on his head and a coat of bronze armor that weighed about one hundred twenty-five pounds. ⁶He wore bronze protectors on his legs, and he had a bronze spear on his back. ⁷The wooden part of his larger spear was like a weaver’s rod, and its blade weighed about fifteen pounds. The officer who carried his shield walked in front of him.

⁸Goliath stood and shouted to the Israelite soldiers, “Why have you taken positions for battle? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s servants! Choose a man and send him to fight me. ⁹If he can fight and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I can kill him, you will be our servants.” ¹⁰Then he said, “Today I stand and dare the army of Israel! Send one of your men to fight me!” ¹¹When Saul and the Israelites heard the Philistine’s words, they were very scared.

¹²Now David was the son of Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons. In Saul’s time Jesse was an old man. ¹³His three oldest sons followed Saul to the war. The first son was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah. ¹⁴David was the youngest. Jesse’s three oldest sons followed Saul, ¹⁵but David went back and forth from Saul to Bethlehem, where he took care of his father’s sheep.

¹⁶For forty days the Philistine came out every morning and evening and stood before the Israelite army.

¹⁷Jesse said to his son David, “Take this half bushel of cooked grain and ten loaves of bread to your brothers in the camp. ¹⁸Also take ten pieces of cheese to the commander and to your brothers. See how your brothers are and bring back some proof to show me that they are all right. ¹⁹Your brothers are with Saul and the army in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”

²⁰Early in the morning David left the sheep with another shepherd. He took the food and left as Jesse had told him. When David arrived at the camp, the army was going out to their battle positions, shouting their war cry. ²¹The Israelites and Philistines were lining up their men to face each other in battle.

²²David left the food with the man who kept the supplies and ran to the battle line to talk to his brothers. ²³While he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out. He shouted things against Israel as usual, and David heard him. ²⁴When the Israelites saw Goliath, they were very much afraid and ran away.

²⁵They said, “Look at this man! He keeps coming out to challenge Israel. The king will give much money to whoever kills him. He will also let whoever kills him marry his daughter. And his father’s family will not have to pay taxes in Israel.”

²⁶David asked the men who stood near him, “What will be done to reward the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the shame from Israel? Who does this uncircumcised Philistine think he is? Does he think he can speak against the armies of the living God?”

²⁷The Israelites told David what would be done for the man who would kill Goliath.

²⁸When David’s oldest brother Eliab heard David talking with the soldiers, he was angry with David. He asked David, “Why did you come here? Who’s taking care of those few sheep of yours in the desert? I know you are proud and wicked at heart. You came down here just to watch the battle.”

²⁹David asked, “Now what have I done wrong? Can’t I even talk?” ³⁰When he turned to other people and asked the same questions, they gave him the same answer as before. ³¹Yet what David said was told to Saul, and he sent for David.

³²David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. I, your servant, will go and fight this Philistine!”

³³Saul answered, “You can’t go out against this Philistine and fight him. You’re only a boy. Goliath has been a warrior since he was a young man.”

³⁴But David said to Saul, “I, your servant, have been keeping my father’s sheep. When a lion or bear came and took a sheep from the flock, ³⁵I would chase it. I would attack it and save the sheep from its mouth. When it attacked me, I caught it by its fur and hit it and killed it. ³⁶I, your servant, have killed both a lion and a bear! This uncircumcised Philistine will be like them, because he has spoken against the armies of the living God. ³⁷The Lord who saved me from a lion and a bear will save me from this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” ³⁸Saul put his own clothes on David. He put a bronze helmet on his head and dressed him in armor. ³⁹David put on Saul’s sword and tried to walk around, but he was not used to all the armor Saul had put on him.

He said to Saul, “I can’t go in this, because I’m not used to it.” Then David took it all off. ⁴⁰He took his stick in his hand and chose five smooth stones from a stream. He put them in his shepherd’s bag and grabbed his sling. Then he went to meet the Philistine.

⁴¹At the same time, the Philistine was coming closer to David. The man who held his shield walked in front of him. ⁴²When Goliath looked at David and saw that he was only a boy, tanned and handsome, he looked down on David with disgust. ⁴³He said, “Do you think I am a dog, that you come at me with a stick?” He used his gods’ names to curse David. ⁴⁴He said to David, “Come here. I’ll feed your body to the birds of the air and the wild animals!”

⁴⁵But David said to him, “You come to me using a sword and two spears. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel! You have spoken against him. ⁴⁶Today the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll kill you and cut off your head. Today I’ll feed the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds of the air and the wild animals. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel! ⁴⁷Everyone gathered here will know the Lord does not need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to him, and he will hand you over to us.”

⁴⁸As Goliath came near to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him. ⁴⁹He took a stone from his bag, put it into his sling, and slung it. The stone hit the Philistine and went deep into his forehead,…