^{1 Ref} And the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you go on sorrowing for Saul, seeing that I have put him from his place as king over Israel? Take oil in your vessel and go; I will send you to Jesse, the Beth-lehemite: for I have got a king for myself among his sons.

^{2 Ref} And Samuel said, How is it possible for me to go? If Saul gets news of it he will put me to death. And the Lord said, Take a young cow with you and say, I have come to make an offering to the Lord.

^{3 Ref} And send for Jesse to be present at the offering, and I will make clear to you what you are to do: and you are to put the holy oil on him whose name I give you.

^{4 Ref} And Samuel did as the Lord said and came to Beth-lehem. And the responsible men of the town came out to him in fear and said, Do you come in peace?

^{5 Ref} And he said, In peace: I have come to make an offering to the Lord: make yourselves clean and come with me to make the offering. And he made Jesse and his sons clean, and sent for them to be present at the offering.

^{6 Ref} Now when they came, looking at Eliab, he said, Clearly the man of the Lord's selection is before him.

^{7 Ref} But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not take note of his face or how tall he is, because I will not have him: for the Lord's view is not man's; man takes note of the outer form, but the Lord sees the heart.

^{8 Ref} Then Jesse sent for Abinadab and made him come before Samuel. And he said, The Lord has not taken this one.

^{9 Ref} Then Jesse made Shammah come before him. And he said, The Lord has not taken this one.

^{10 Ref} And Jesse made his seven sons come before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not taken any of these.

^{11 Ref} Then Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your children here? And he said, There is still the youngest, and he is looking after the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and make him come here: for we will not take our seats till he is here.

^{12 Ref} So he sent and made him come in. Now he had red hair and beautiful eyes and pleasing looks. And the Lord said, Come, put the oil on him, for this is he.

^{13 Ref} Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on him there among his brothers: and from that day the spirit of the Lord came on David with power. So Samuel went back to Ramah.

^{14 Ref} Now the spirit of the Lord had gone from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord was troubling him.

¹⁵ And Saul's servants said to him, See now, an evil spirit from God is troubling you.

^{16 Ref} Now give orders to your servants who are here before you to go in search of a man who is an expert player on a corded instrument: and it will be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will make music for you on his instrument, and you will get well.

¹⁷ And Saul said to his servants, Then get me a man who is an expert player, and make him come to me.

^{18 Ref} Then one of the servants in answer said, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Beth-lehemite, who is expert at playing, and a strong man and a man of war; and he is wise in his words, and pleasing in looks, and the Lord is with him.

^{19 Ref} So Saul sent his servants to Jesse and said, Send me your son David who is with the sheep.

^{20 Ref} And Jesse took five cakes of bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David.

^{21 Ref} And David came to Saul, waiting before him: and he became very dear to Saul, who made him his servant, giving him the care of his arms.

²² And Saul sent to Jesse saying, Let David be with me, for he is pleasing to me.

²³ And whenever the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David took his instrument and made music: so new life came to Saul, and he got well, and the evil spirit went away from him.

^{1 Ref} And Jehovah said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go: I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons.

^{2 Ref} And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And Jehovah said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah.

^{3 Ref} And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.

^{4 Ref} And Samuel did that which Jehovah spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

^{5 Ref} And he said, Peaceably; I am come to sacrifice unto Jehovah: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

^{6 Ref} And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely Jehovah's anointed is before him.

^{7 Ref} But Jehovah said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for `Jehovah seeth' not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart.

^{8 Ref} Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath Jehovah chosen this.

^{9 Ref} Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath Jehovah chosen this.

^{10 Ref} And Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Jehovah hath not chosen these.

^{11 Ref} And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he come hither.

^{12 Ref} And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look upon. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.

^{13 Ref} Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

^{14 Ref} Now the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Jehovah troubled him.

¹⁵ And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

^{16 Ref} Let our lord now command thy servants, that are before thee, to seek out a man who is a skilful player on the harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

¹⁷ And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.

^{18 Ref} Then answered one of the young men, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skilful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war, and prudent in speech, and a comely person; and Jehovah is with him.

^{19 Ref} Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep.

^{20 Ref} And Jesse took an ass `laden' with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.

^{21 Ref} And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armorbearer.

²² And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight.

²³ And it came to pass, when the `evil' spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

^{1 Ref} Yahweh said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill your horn with oil, and go: I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons.

^{2 Ref} Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. Yahweh said, Take a heifer with you, and say, I am come to sacrifice to Yahweh.

^{3 Ref} Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do: and you shall anoint to me him whom I name to you.

^{4 Ref} Samuel did that which Yahweh spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, Come you peaceably?

^{5 Ref} He said, Peaceably; I am come to sacrifice to Yahweh: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. He sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

^{6 Ref} It happened, when they had come, that he looked at Eliab, and said, Surely Yahweh's anointed is before him.

^{7 Ref} But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Don't look on his face, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for [Yahweh sees] not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart."

^{8 Ref} Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, Neither has Yahweh chosen this.

^{9 Ref} Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. He said, Neither has Yahweh chosen this.

^{10 Ref} Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, Yahweh has not chosen these.

^{11 Ref} Samuel said to Jesse, Are here all your children? He said, There remains yet the youngest, and, behold, he is keeping the sheep. Samuel said to Jesse, Send and get him; for we will not sit down until he come here.

^{12 Ref} He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful face, and goodly to look on. Yahweh said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.

^{13 Ref} Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers: and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

^{14 Ref} Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh troubled him.

¹⁵ Saul's servants said to him, See now, an evil spirit from God troubles you.

^{16 Ref} Let our lord now command your servants who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp: and it shall happen, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play with his hand, and you shall be well.

¹⁷ Saul said to his servants, Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.

^{18 Ref} Then answered one of the young men, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war, and prudent in speech, and a comely person; and Yahweh is with him.

^{19 Ref} Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.

^{20 Ref} Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son to Saul.

^{21 Ref} David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armor bearer.

²² Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Please let David stand before me; for he has found favor in my sight.

²³ It happened, when the [evil] spirit from God was on Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.