1 Samuel 16:14–23

¹⁴And the Spirit of Jehovah turned aside from Saul, and a spirit of sadness from Jehovah terrified him; ¹⁵and the servants of Saul say unto him, ‘Lo, we pray thee, a spirit of sadness from God is terrifying thee; ¹⁶let our lord command, we pray thee, thy servants before thee, they seek a skilful man, playing on a harp, and it hath come to pass, in the spirit of sadness from God being upon thee, that he hath played with his hand, and it is well with thee.’ ¹⁷And Saul saith unto his servants, ‘Provide, I pray you, for me a man playing well—then ye have brought him in unto me.’ ¹⁸And one of the servants answereth and saith, ‘Lo, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, skilful in playing, and a mighty virtuous man, and a man of battle, and intelligent in word, and a man of form, and Jehovah is with him.’ ¹⁹And Saul sendeth messengers unto Jesse, and saith, ‘Send unto me David thy son, who is with the flock.’ ²⁰And Jesse taketh an ass, with bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sendeth by the hand of David his son unto Saul. ²¹And David cometh in unto Saul, and standeth before him, and he loveth him greatly; and he is a bearer of his weapons. ²²And Saul sendeth unto Jesse, saying, ‘Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he hath found grace in mine eyes.’ ²³And it hath come to pass, in the spirit of sadness from God being on Saul, that David hath taken the harp, and played with his hand, and Saul hath refreshment and gladness, and the spirit of sadness hath turned aside from off him.

Chapter 17