1 Samuel 16

1 And YHWH says to Samuel, “Until when are you mourning for Saul, and I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go, I send you to Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, for I have seen among his sons a king for Myself.”

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 says, “How do I go? When Saul has heard, then he has slain me.” And YHWH says, “You take a heifer of the herd in your hand, and have said, I have come to sacrifice to YHWH;

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 have called for Jesse in the sacrifice, and I cause you to know that which you do, and you have anointed for Me him of whom I speak 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 does that which YHWH has spoken, and comes to Beth-Lehem, and [the] elderly of the city tremble to meet him, and [one] says, “Is your coming 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 And he says, “Peace; I have come to sacrifice to YHWH, sanctify yourselves, and you have come in with me to the sacrifice”; and he sanctifies Jesse and his sons, and calls 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 comes to pass, in their coming in, that he sees Eliab and says, “Surely His anointed [is] here before YHWH.”

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 And YHWH says to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance, and at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him; for [it is] not as man sees—for man looks at the eyes, and YHWH 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 Jesse calls to Abinadab, and causes him to pass by before Samuel; and he says, “Indeed, YHWH has not fixed on 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 Jesse causes Shammah to pass by, and he says, “Indeed, YHWH has not fixed on 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 Jesse causes seven of his sons to pass by before Samuel, and Samuel says to Jesse, “YHWH has not fixed on 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 says to Jesse, “Are the young men finished?” And he says, “Yet the youngest has been left; and behold, he delights himself among the flock”; and Samuel says to Jesse, “Send and take him, for we do not turn around until his coming in here.”

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 sends, and brings him in, and he [is] ruddy, with beautiful eyes, and of good appearance; and YHWH says, “Rise, anoint him, for this [is] he.”

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 takes the horn of oil, and anoints him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of YHWH prospers over David from that day and onward; and Samuel rises and goes to Ramath.

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 YHWH turned aside from Saul, and a spirit of sadness from YHWH terrified 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 the servants of Saul say to him, “Now behold, a spirit of sadness [from] God is terrifying you;

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

16 now let our lord command your servants before you [that] they seek a skillful man playing on a harp, and it has come to pass, in the spirit of sadness [from] God being on you, that he has played with his hand and [it is] well with 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 says to his servants, “Now provide for me a man playing well—then you have brought [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 the servants answers and says, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, skillful in playing, and a mighty, virtuous man, and a man of battle, and intelligent in word, and a man of form, and YHWH [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 sends messengers to Jesse and says, “Send to me your son David, who [is] with the flock.”

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

20 And Jesse takes a donkey, bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sends [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 comes to Saul, and stands before him, and he loves him greatly; and he is a bearer of his weapons.

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 sends to Jesse, saying, “Please let David 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 has come to pass, in the spirit of [sadness from] God being on Saul, that David has taken the harp, and played with his hand, and Saul has refreshment and gladness, and the spirit of sadness has turned aside from off 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.