1 Samuel 16–17

Samuel Anoints David to Be Israel’s King

16The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you be filled with sorrow because of Saul? I have refused to have him as king over Israel. Fill your animal horn with olive oil and go on your way. I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

²But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it. Then he’ll kill me.”

The Lord said, “Take a young cow with you. Tell the elders of Bethlehem, ‘I’ve come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³Invite Jesse to the sacrifice. Then I will show you what to do. You must anoint for me the one I point out to you.”

⁴Samuel did what the Lord said. He arrived at Bethlehem. The elders of the town met him. They were trembling with fear. They asked, “Have you come in peace?”

⁵Samuel replied, “Yes, I’ve come in peace. I’ve come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Set yourselves apart to him and come to the sacrifice with me.”

Then he set Jesse and his sons apart to the Lord. He invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab. He thought, “This has to be the one the Lord wants me to anoint for him.”

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider how handsome or tall he is. I have not chosen him. I do not look at the things people look at. Man looks at how someone appears on the outside. But I look at what is in the heart.”

⁸Then Jesse called for Abinadab. He had him walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen him either.”

⁹Then Jesse had Shammah walk by. But Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen him either.”

¹⁰Jesse had seven of his sons walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said to him, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of them.” ¹¹So he asked Jesse, “Are these the only sons you have?”

“No,” Jesse answered. “My youngest son is taking care of the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he arrives.”

¹²So Jesse sent for his son and had him brought in. His skin was tanned. He had a fine appearance and handsome features.

Then the Lord said, “Get up and anoint him. He is the one.”

¹³So Samuel got the animal horn that was filled with olive oil. He anointed David in front of his brothers. From that day on, the Spirit of the Lord came on David with power. Samuel went back to Ramah.

David Serves Saul

¹⁴The Spirit of the Lord had left Saul. And an evil spirit that was sent by the Lord terrified him.

¹⁵Saul’s attendants said to him, “An evil spirit that was sent by God is terrifying you. ¹⁶Give us an order to look for someone who can play the harp. He will play it when the evil spirit that was sent by God comes on you. Then you will feel better.”

¹⁷So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays the harp well. Bring him to me.”

¹⁸One of the servants said, “I’ve seen someone who knows how to play the harp. He is a son of Jesse from Bethlehem. He’s a brave man. He would make a good soldier. He’s a good speaker. He’s very handsome. And the Lord is with him.”

¹⁹Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse. He said, “Send me your son David, the one who takes care of your sheep.”

²⁰So Jesse got some bread and a bottle of wine. The bottle was made out of animal skin. He also got a young goat. He loaded everything on the back of a donkey. He sent all of it to Saul with his son David.

²¹David went to Saul and began to serve him. Saul liked him very much. David became one of the men who carried Saul’s armor.

²²Saul sent a message to Jesse. It said, “Let David stay here. I want him to serve me. I’m pleased with him.”

²³When the evil spirit that was sent by God would come on Saul, David would get his harp and play it. That would help Saul. He would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

David Kills Goliath

17The Philistines gathered their army together for war. They came to Socoh in Judah. They set up camp at Ephes Dammim. It was between Socoh and Azekah. ²Saul and the army of Israel gathered together. They camped in the Valley of Elah. They lined up their men to fight against the Philistines. ³The Philistine army was camped on one hill. Israel’s army was on another. The valley was between them.

⁴A mighty hero named Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. He was from Gath. He was more than nine feet tall. ⁵He had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a coat of bronze armor. It weighed 125 pounds. ⁶On his legs he wore bronze guards. He carried a bronze javelin on his back. ⁷His spear was as big as a weaver’s rod. Its iron point weighed 15 pounds. The man who carried his shield walked along in front of him.

⁸Goliath stood and shouted to the soldiers of Israel. He said, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? I’m a Philistine. You are servants of Saul. Choose one of your men. Have him come down and face me. ⁹If he’s able to fight and kill me, we’ll become your slaves. But if I win and kill him, you will become our slaves and serve us.” ¹⁰Goliath continued, “This very day I dare the soldiers of Israel to send a man down to fight against me.”

¹¹Saul and the whole army of Israel heard what the Philistine said. They were terrified.

¹²David was the son of an Ephrathite. His name was Jesse. He was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons. When Saul was king, Jesse was already very old. ¹³Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul into battle. The oldest son was Eliab. The second was Abinadab. The third was Shammah. ¹⁴David was the youngest. The three oldest sons followed Saul. ¹⁵But David went back and forth from Saul’s camp to Bethlehem. He went to Bethlehem to take care of his father’s sheep.

¹⁶Every morning and evening Goliath came forward and stood there. He did it for 40 days.

¹⁷Jesse said to his son David, “Get at least half a bushel of grain that has been cooked. Also get ten loaves of bread. Take all of it to your brothers. Hurry to their camp. ¹⁸Take along these ten chunks of cheese to the commander of their company. Find out how your brothers are doing. Bring me back some word about them. ¹⁹They are with Saul and all of the men of Israel. They are in the Valley of Elah. They are fighting against the Philistines.”

²⁰Early in the morning David left his father’s flock in the care of a shepherd. David loaded up the food and started out, just as Jesse had directed.

David reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions. The soldiers were shouting the war cry. ²¹Israel and the Philistines were lining up their armies for battle. The armies were facing each other.

²²David left what he had brought with the man who took care of the supplies. He ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers. ²³As David was talking with them, Goliath stepped forward from his line. Goliath was a mighty Philistine hero from Gath. He again dared someone to fight him, and David heard it.

²⁴When Israel’s army saw Goliath, all of them ran away from him. That’s because they were filled with fear.

²⁵The men of Israel had been saying, “Just look at how this man keeps stepping forward! Again and again he dares Israel to fight him. The king will make the man who kills him very wealthy. He will also give him his daughter to be his wife. He won’t require anyone in his family to pay any taxes in Israel.”

²⁶David spoke to the men who were standing near him. He asked them, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine? Goliath is bringing shame on Israel. What will be done for the one who removes it? This Philistine isn’t even circumcised. He dares the armies of the living God to fight him. Who does he think he is?”

²⁷The men told David what Israel’s soldiers had been saying. The men told him what would be done for the man who killed Goliath.

²⁸David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking with the men. So he burned with anger at him. He asked him, “Why have you come down here? Who did you leave those few sheep in the desert with? I know how proud you are. I know how evil your heart is. The only reason you came down here was to watch the battle.”

²⁹“What have I done now?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?”

³⁰Then he turned away to speak to some other men. He asked them the same question he had asked before. And they gave him the same answer.

³¹Someone heard what David said and reported it to Saul. So Saul sent for him.

³²David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone lose hope because of that Philistine. I’ll go out and fight him.”

³³Saul replied, “You aren’t able to go out there and fight that Philistine. You are too young. He’s been a fighting man ever since he was a boy.”

³⁴But David said to Saul, “I’ve been taking care of my father’s sheep. Sometimes a lion or a bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock. ³⁵Then I would go after it and hit it. I would save the sheep it was carrying in its mouth. If it turned around to attack me, I would grab hold of its hair. I would strike it down and kill it. ³⁶In fact, I’ve killed both a lion and a bear. I’ll do the same thing to this Philistine. He isn’t even circumcised. He has dared the armies of the living God to fight him.

³⁷“The Lord saved me from the paw of the lion. He saved me from the paw of the bear. And he’ll save me from the powerful hand of this Philistine too.”

Saul said to David, “Go. And may the Lord be with you.”

³⁸Then Saul dressed David in his own military clothes. He put a coat of armor on him. He put a bronze helmet on his head. ³⁹David put on Saul’s sword over his clothes. He walked around for a while in all of that armor because he wasn’t used to it.

“I can’t go out there in all of this armor,” he said to Saul. “I’m not used to it.” So he took it off.

⁴⁰Then David picked up his wooden staff. He went down to a stream and chose five smooth stones. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag. Then he took his sling in his hand and approached Goliath.

⁴¹At that same time, the Philistine kept coming closer to David. The man who was carrying Goliath’s shield walked along in front of him.

⁴²Goliath looked David over. He saw how young he was. He also saw how tanned and handsome he was. And he hated him. ⁴³…