1 Samuel 16

Lexham English Bible

David Is Anointed

16 Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “How long^[a] will you mourn about Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel! Fill up your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself among his sons.” ² But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears, he will kill me.” Yahweh said, “You must take a heifer from the herd with you,^[b] and you must say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.’ ³ You will invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will make known to you what you must do. You will anoint for me the one whom I tell you.”

⁴ So Samuel did what Yahweh said. He came to Bethlehem, and the elders of the city came trembling to meet him. They said, “Have you come in peace?”^{[c] 5} He said, “I come in peace. I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” So he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they came,^[d] he^[e] saw Eliab and said, “Surely his anointed one is before Yahweh!” ⁷ But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For God does not see what man sees, for a man looks on the outward appearance,^[f] but Yahweh looks on the heart.”^{[g] 8} Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel, and he said, “This one also Yahweh has not chosen.” ⁹ So Jesse made Shammah pass before Samuel, but he said, “Yahweh also has not chosen this one.” ¹⁰ And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen any of these.”

¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?”^[h] And he said, “The youngest still remains, but look, he is shepherding the flock.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we cannot sit down^[i] until he comes here.” ¹² So he sent and brought him. Now he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and of handsome^[j] appearance. And Yahweh said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. Then the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day on.^[k] Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

Saul in Torment

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him. ¹⁵ So the servants of Saul said to him, “Look please, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Please, let our lord command your servants who are before you! Let them seek a man skilled in playing on the lyre. When^[l] the evil spirit from God is upon you, he can play on it^[m] and you will feel better.”^{[n] 17} So Saul said to his servants, “Please select a man who plays a stringed instrument well^[o] and bring him to me.”

¹⁸ One of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing a stringed instrument, a brave man, a warrior, prudent in speech, and handsome.^[p] And Yahweh is with him.” ¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son who is with the sheep.” ²⁰ And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a skin of wine and one young goat^[q] and sent them to Saul by the hand of David his son. ²¹ So David came to Saul and entered his service.^[r] He^[s] loved him greatly and he became Saul’s armor bearer.^{[t] 22} Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, because he has found favor in my sight.”^{[u] 23} So whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the stringed instrument and play it with his hand. Then it would bring relief^[v] for Saul; he would feel better^[w] and the evil spirit would depart from him.