1 Samuel 16
1 The Lord asked Samuel, “How long are you going to continue to mourn over Saul because I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your flask with olive oil and go. I'm sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen a king for myself from among his sons.”
Finally, Yahweh said to Samuel, “I have decided that I will not allow Saul to continue to be the king. So you should not [RHQ] keep feeling sad [about what he has done]. Put some olive oil in a small container and go to Bethlehem [to anoint someone with the oil, and appoint him to be king]. I am sending you there to a man named Jesse, because I have chosen one of his sons to be the king [of Israel].”
2 “How can I go and do that?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear about it and kill me!” The Lord answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I've come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
But Samuel said, “I am afraid [RHQ] to do that! If Saul hears about it, he will kill me!” Yahweh said, “Take a (heifer/young female cow) with you, and say to people that you have come to [kill it and] offer it as a sacrifice to me.
3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you have to do. Anoint for me the one I tell you to.”
“Invite Jesse to come to the sacrifice. [When he comes, ] I will show you what you should do. And I will show you which of his sons [I have chosen to be the king]. Then you should anoint that one [with the olive oil to be the king].”
4 Samuel did what the Lord had told him to and went to Bethlehem. When the town elders met him, they were afraid and asked him, “Do you come in peace?”
Samuel did what Yahweh told him to do. He went to Bethlehem. When the town leaders came to him, they trembled, [because they were worried that Samuel had come to rebuke them about something]. One of them asked him, “Have you come [to speak] peacefully [to us]?”
5 “Yes, I come in peace,” he replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He purified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
Samuel replied, “Yes. I have come peacefully, to make a sacrifice to Yahweh. [Perform the rituals to] make yourselves acceptable to Yahweh, and then come with me to where they will offer the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed the ritual to make Jesse and his sons acceptable to God, and he also invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived and Samuel saw Eliab, he said to himself, “This has got to be the Lord's anointed!”
When they arrived there, Samuel looked at [Jesse’s oldest son] Eliab, and thought, “Surely this is the one whom Yahweh has appointed [to be king]!”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don't look at his outward appearance or how tall he is because I have rejected him, for the Lord does not look as human beings do. Human beings only see with their eyes what's on the outside, but the Lord looks at the way people think deep inside.”
But Yahweh said to Samuel, “No, he is not the one whom I have chosen. Don’t pay attention to his being handsome and very tall, because I have not chosen him. I do not evaluate people as people do. You people evaluate people by their appearance, but I evaluate people by what is in their inner beings.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him come before Samuel, who said, “The Lord hasn't chosen this one either.”
Then Jesse told [his next oldest son] Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. [But when he did that], Samuel said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one, either.”
9 Then Jesse had Shammah come forward. But Samuel said, “The Lord hasn't chosen this one either.”
Then Jesse told [his next oldest son] Shammah to step forward. He stepped forward, but Samuel said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one, either.”
10 Jesse had seven of his sons come before Samuel, but Samuel told him, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”
Similarly, Jesse told his other four sons to walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen any of these sons of yours.”
11 So he asked Jesse, “Don't you have any more sons?” “Well, there's still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is out looking after the sheep.” “Send for him and bring him here because we will not sit down and eat until he gets here,” Samuel told Jesse.
Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Do you have any other sons?” Jesse replied, “My youngest son [is not here]; he is out [in the fields] taking care of the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send someone to bring him here! We will not sit down [to eat] until he gets here.”
12 So Jesse sent for him and brought him in. He had a red complexion with beautiful eyes, and looked handsome. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him, for he's the one.”
So Jesse sent [someone] to bring [David there. And when David arrived, Samuel saw that] he was handsome and healthy, and had bright eyes. Then Yahweh said, “This is the one [whom I have chosen]; anoint him [to be king].”
13 Samuel took the flask of olive oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came on David in power from that day on. Then Samuel left and returned to Ramah.
So as David [stood there] in front of his older brothers, Samuel took the container of oil that he had brought and poured some of it on David’s head [to set him apart to serve God. After they all ate, Samuel left] and returned to Ramah. But Yahweh’s Spirit came on David powerfully, and stayed with David for the rest of his life.
14 The Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.
But Yahweh’s Spirit left Saul. Instead [of his Spirit staying with Saul], Yahweh sent an evil spirit to Saul to terrify him [repeatedly].
15 Saul's servants told him, “It's definitely an evil spirit from God that's tormenting you.
One of his servants said to him, “It is evident that an evil spirit sent by God is terrifying you.
16 Give us your servants here the order to find someone who is good at playing the harp so that when the evil spirit from God comes on you, he can play and you'll feel much better.”
So [we suggest that you] allow us, your servants here, to search for a man who plays the harp well. He can play the harp whenever the evil spirit bothers you. Then [you will calm down and] you will be okay again.”
17 Saul gave the order to his servants, “Find me someone who is good at playing the harp and bring him to me.”
Saul replied, “[Fine/Okay], find for me a man who can play [the harp] well, and bring him to me.”
18 One of the servants replied, “I know a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who is good at playing the harp. He is a brave man, a good fighter, well-spoken and handsome, and the Lord is with him.”
One of his servants said to him, “A man named Jesse, in Bethlehem [town], has a son who plays the harp very well. Furthermore, he is a brave man, and is a capable soldier. He is handsome and he always speaks wisely. And Yahweh always protects him.”
19 Saul sent messengers to Jesse, telling him, “Send me your son David who takes care of the sheep.”
So Saul sent this message to Jesse: “Send your son David to me, the one who takes care of sheep.”
20 So Jesse loaded a donkey with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.
[So after they went to] Jesse [and told him that, he agreed. He] got a young goat, a container of wine, a donkey on which he put some loaves of bread, and gave them to David to take to Saul [as a present].
21 David came to Saul and began working for him. Saul thought a great deal of him, and David became his armor-bearer.
Then David went to Saul and started to work for him. Saul liked David very much, and he became the man who carried Saul’s weapons [when Saul went to fight in battles].
22 Saul sent a message to Jesse, saying, “Please allow David to continue working for me because I am pleased with him.”
Then Saul sent [a messenger] to Jesse to tell him, “I am pleased with David. Please let him stay here and work for me.”
23 So whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take his harp and play, and Saul would gain relief and feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
[Jesse agreed, and after that], whenever the evil spirit whom God sent tormented Saul, David played the harp. Then Saul would become calm, and the evil spirit would leave him.
