²³ And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.^(A)

David Plays the Lyre for Saul

¹⁴ Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.^{(A) 15} And Saul’s servants said to him, “See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better.”^(B)

Saul Tries to Kill David

¹⁰ The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand,^{(A) 11} and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.^(B)

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

²⁴ “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ When it returns, it finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”^(A)

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

⁴³ “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it returns, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation.”^(A)