1 Samuel 16

1 og HERREN sagde til Samuel: »Hvor længe vil du gaa og sørge over Saul? Jeg har jo dog forkastet ham, saa han ikke mere skal være Konge over Israel. Fyld dit Horn med Olie og drag af Sted! Jeg sender dig til Betlehemiten Isaj, thi jeg har udset mig en Konge blandt hans Sønner.«

And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him so as not to reign over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lechemite; for I have selected among his sons unto myself a king.

2 Samuel svarede: »Hvorledes kan jeg det? Faar Saul det at høre, dræber han mig!« Men HERREN sagde: »Tag en Kvie med og sig: Jeg kommer for at ofre HERREN et Offer!

And Samuel said, How shall I go? if Saul should hear it, he would kill me. And the Lord said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, To sacrifice unto the Lord am I come.

3 Og indbyd Isaj til Ofringen; saa vil jeg lade dig vide, hvad du skal gøre; du skal salve mig den, jeg siger dig!«

And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let thee know what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint unto me the one whom I will say unto thee.

4 Samuel gjorde da, som HERREN sagde. Da han kom til Betlehem, gik Byens Ældste ham forfærdede i Møde og sagde: »Kommer du for det gode?«

And Samuel did that which the Lord had spoken, and came to Beth-lechem. And the elders of the town came hastily to meet him, and said, Peace to thee at thy coming.

5 Han svarede: »Ja! Jeg kommer for at ofre til HERREN. Helliger eder og kom med til Ofringen!« Og han lod Isaj og hans Sønner hellige sig og indbød dem til Ofringen:

And he said, Peace: to sacrifice unto the Lord am I come; sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 Da de kom, og han saa Eliab, tænkte han: »Visselig staar nu HERRENS Salvede for ham!«

And it came to pass, when they came, that he saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is [here] before him.

7 Men HERREN sagde til Samuel: »Se ikke paa hans Ydre eller høje Vækst; thi jeg har vraget ham; Gud ser jo ikke, som Mennesker ser, thi Mennesker ser paa det, som er for Øjnene, men HERREN ser paa Hjertet.«

But the Lord said unto Samuel, Regard not his appearance, nor the height of his stature; because I have rejected him; for not what man looketh on; —for man looketh on the eyes, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

8 Da kaldte Isaj paa Abinadab og førte ham hen for Samuel; men han sagde: »Heller ikke ham har HERREN udvalgt!«

Then Jesse called Abinadab, and caused him to pass before Samuel. And he said, This one also hath the Lord not chosen.

9 Isaj førte da Sjamma frem; men han sagde: »Heller ikke ham har HERREN udvalgt!«

Then Jesse caused Shammah to pass by. And he said, This one also hath the Lord not chosen.

10 Saa førte Isaj de andre af sine syv Sønner frem for Samuel; men Samuel sagde til Isaj: »HERREN har ikke udvalgt nogen af dem!«

And Jesse caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel: and Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not made choice of these.

11 Samuel spurgte da Isaj: »Er det alle de unge Mænd?« Han svarede: »Endnu er den yngste tilbage; men han vogter Smaakvæget!« Da sagde Samuel til Isaj: »Send Bud efter ham! thi vi sætter os ikke til Bords, før han kommer!«

And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are there not more young men? And he said, There is yet left behind the youngest, and, behold, he is feeding the flocks. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he have come hither.

12 Saa sendte han Bud efter ham. Han var rødmosset, en Yngling med smukke Øjne og skøn at se til. Da sagde HERREN: »Staa op, salv ham, thi ham er det!«

And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, having withal handsome eyes, and being of a goodly appearance. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.

13 Samuel tog da Oliehornet og salvede ham, medens hans Brødre stod rundt om: Og HERRENS Aand kom over David fra den Dag af. Derefter brød Samuel op og gik til Rama.

Then took Samuel the horn of oil, and anointed him from among his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came suddenly upon David from that day and forward. And Samuel then rose up, and went to Ramah.

14 Efter at HERRENS Aand var veget fra Saul, plagedes han af en ond Aand fra HERREN.

And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and there troubled him an evil spirit from the Lord.

15 Sauls Folk sagde da til ham: »Se, en ond Aand fra Gud plager dig;

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

16 sig kun et Ord, Herre, dine Trælle staar rede til at søge efter en Mand, der kan lege paa Strenge; naar en ond Aand fra Gud kommer over dig, skal han røre Strengene; saa faar du det godt!«

Let our Lord but say [the word], and thy servants, now before thee, will seek out a man, who is skilful as a 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, that thou mayest be well.

17 Da sagde Saul til sine Folk: »Find mig en Mand, der er dygtig til Strengeleg, og bring ham til mig!«

And Saul said unto his servants, Select for me, I pray you, a man that can play well, and bring him to me.

18 En af Tjenerne tog til Orde og sagde: »Jeg har set en Søn af Betlehemiten Isaj, han kan lege paa Strenge og er en dygtig Kriger, en øvet Krigsmand; han ved at føje sine Ord og er en smuk Mand, og HERREN er med ham!«

Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lechemite, who is skilful as a player, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and intelligent in speech, and a person of a good form, and the Lord is with him.

19 Saul sendte da Bud til Isaj og lod sige: »Send mig din Søn David, som er ved Faarene!«

Thereupon Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, who is with the flocks.

20 Da tog Isaj ti Brød, en Lædersæk Vin og et Gedekid og sendte sin Søn David til Saul dermed.

And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them through David his son unto Saul.

21 Saaledes kom David til Saul og traadte i hans Tjeneste; Saul fik ham saare kær, og han blev hans Vaabendrager.

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

22 Og Saul sendte Bud til Isaj og lod sige: »Lad David blive i min Tjeneste, thi jeg har fattet Godhed for ham!«

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

23 Naar nu Aanden fra Gud kom over Saul, tog David sin Citer og rørte Strengene; saa følte Saul Lindring og fik det godt, og den onde Aand veg fra ham.

And it came to pass, when the spirit of God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand; so Saul became relieved, and he felt well, and the evil spirit departed from him.