1 Samuel 16:1–12

David Anointed King

16Now the Lord said to Samuel, ^a“How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? ^bFill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to ^cJesse the Bethlehemite. For ^dI have ¹provided Myself a king among his sons.”

²And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”

But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ^e‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”

⁴So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town ^ftrembled at his coming, and said, ^g“Do you come peaceably?”

⁵And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^hSanctify ²yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶So it was, when they came, that he looked at ⁱEliab and ^jsaid, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, ^k“Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have ³refused him. ^lFor ⁴the Lord does not see as man sees; for man ^mlooks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the ⁿheart.”

⁸So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the ^osheep.”

And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not ⁵sit down till he comes here.” ¹²So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ^pruddy, ^qwith ⁶bright eyes, and good-looking. ^rAnd the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”