Kings I 16

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

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 And Samuel said, How can I go? whereas Saul will hear of it, and kill me: and the Lord said, Take a heifer in your hand and you shall say, I am 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 And you shall call Jessae to the sacrifice, and I will make known to you what you shall do; and you shall anoint him whom I shall mention to you.

“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 And Samuel did all that the Lord told him; and he came to Bethleem: and the elders of the city were amazed at meeting him, and said, Do you come peaceably, you Seer?

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 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and rejoice with me this day: and he sanctified Jessae and his sons, and he called 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 And it came to pass when they came in, that he saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed [is] before him.

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, Look not on his appearance, nor on his stature, for I have rejected him; for God sees not as man looks; for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

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 And Jessae called Aminadab, and he passed before Samuel: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one.

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 And Jessae caused Sama to pass by: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one.

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 And Jessae caused his seven sons to pass before Samuel: and Samuel said, the Lord has not chosen 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 And Samuel said to Jessae, Hast you no more sons? And Jessae said, [There is] yet a little one; behold, he tends the flock. And Samuel said to Jessae, Send and fetch him for we may not sit down till he comes.

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 And he sent and fetched him: and he was ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and very goodly to behold. And the Lord said to Samuel, Arise, and anoint David, for he is good.

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 And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward: and Samuel arose, and departed to Armathaim.

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 And the Spirit of the Lord departed from 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 And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, and evil spirit from the Lord torments you.

One of his servants said to him, “It is evident that an evil spirit sent by God is terrifying you.

16 Let now your servants speak before you, and let them seek for our lord a man skilled to play on the harp; and it shall come to pass when an evil spirit comes upon you and he shall play on his harp, that you shall be well, and he shall refresh you.

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 And Saul said to his servants, Look now out for me a skillful player, 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 And one of his servants answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jessae the Bethleemite, and he understands playing [on the harp], and the man [is] prudent, and a warrior, and wise in speech, and the man [is] 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 And Saul sent messengers to Jessae, saying, Send to me your son David who is with your flock.

So Saul sent this message to Jesse: “Send your son David to me, the one who takes care of sheep.”

20 And Jessae took a homer of bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sent them by the hand of 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 And David went in to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he 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 And Saul sent to Jessae, saying, Let David, I pray you, stand before me, for he has found grace in my eyes.

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