1 Samuel 16

¹And the Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn over Saul, since I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have seen among his sons a king for me."

²And Samuel said, 'How can I go? If Saul hears, he will kill me.' And the Lord said, 'Take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.'

³And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make known to you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for me the one whom I tell you."

⁴And Samuel did what the Lord spoke and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city trembled to meet him and said, 'Do you come in peace?'

⁵And he said, "Peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶And when they came in, he saw Eliab and said to himself, 'Surely before the Lord stands his anointed.'

⁷And the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or the height of his stature, for I have rejected him; for it is not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab and caused him to pass before Samuel, and Samuel said, 'Neither has the Lord chosen this one.'

⁹And Jesse made Shammah pass by, and he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."

¹⁰And Jesse caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, 'The Lord has not chosen any of these.'

¹¹And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" And he said, "There still remains the youngest, and behold, he is tending the flock." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send for him and fetch him, for we will not sit down until he comes here."

¹²So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, 'Arise, anoint him, for this is he.'

¹³And Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

¹⁴Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

¹⁵And Saul's servants said to him, "Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrifying you."

¹⁶Please let our lord command your servants before you to seek a man who knows how to play the lyre, and when an evil spirit of God comes upon you, he will play and you will be well.'

¹⁷And Saul said to his servants, "Find for me a man who plays well and bring him to me."

¹⁸Then one of the young men answered and said, 'Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who knows how to play, a valiant warrior, a man of war, discerning in speech, a man of good appearance, and the Lord is with him.'

¹⁹And Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, 'Send to me David your son, who is with the flock.'

²⁰And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and one young goat, and sent them with David his son to Saul.

²¹And David came to Saul and stood before him, and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.

²²And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, 'Let David stand before me, please, for he has found favor in my eyes.'

²³And whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, David would take the lyre and play it with his hand, and Saul would find relief and feel well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.