² His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land.

Absalom Reconciled to David

²⁵ Now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. He was flawless from head to foot. ²⁶ He cut his hair only once a year, and then only because it was so heavy. When he weighed it out, it came to five pounds!^[a]

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

³³ We even saw giants^[a] there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

² The sons of God saw the beautiful women^[a] and took any they wanted as their wives.

⁴ Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet^[a] tall!

²³ So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.

²⁴ Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the Lord has chosen as your king. No one in all Israel is like him!”

And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”