1 Samuel 16
1 And Yahweh said unto Samuel—How long, art thou going to pine for Saul, seeing that, I, have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil, and come! let me send thee unto Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided me, among his sons, a king.
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? As soon as Saul heareth, he will slay me. Then said Yahweh, A heifer, take thou with thee, and say, To sacrifice unto Yahweh, am I come.
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 Then shall thou bid Jesse to the sacrifice, —when, I, will let thee know what thou must do, so shalt thou anoint for me him whom I shall name unto thee.
“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 that which Yahweh had spoken, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him, and one said—Peaceably, comest thou?
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: to sacrifice unto Yahweh, am I come. Hallow yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he hallowed Jesse and his sons, and bade 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 entered, that he looked upon Eliab, —and said to himself, Surely, before Yahweh, is his 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 Yahweh said unto Samuel—Do not regard his countenance, or the height of his stature, for I have rejected him, —for it is not what man looketh to but what God looketh to. For, man, looketh to the outward appearance, but, Yahweh, looketh to 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 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel, —and he said, Neither of this one, hath Yahweh made choice.
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 made Shammah pass by, —and he said—Nor of this one, hath Yahweh made choice.
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 So Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, —and Samuel said unto Jesse, Yahweh hath not made choice 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 Then said Samuel unto Jesse—Are these all the young men? And he said—There yet remaineth, the youngest, but lo! he is tending the sheep. Then said Samuel unto Jesse—Do, send, and summon him, for we cannot sit round, until he cometh in hither.
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 he sent, and brought him in. Now, he, was ruddy, a stripling with handsome eyes, and noble mien. Then said Yahweh—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 took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. And the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon David, from that day forward. Then arose Samuel, and went his way unto 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 But, the spirit of Yahweh, departed from Saul, —and there terrified him a sad spirit, from Yahweh.
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 Then said the servants of Saul unto him, —Lo! we pray thee, a sad superhuman spirit, doth terrify thee:
One of his servants said to him, “It is evident that an evil spirit sent by God is terrifying you.
16 Pray let our lord bid thy servants before thee, seek out a man, skilled in playing on the lyre, —so shall it be, when a sad superhuman spirit cometh on thee, then shall he play with his hand, and thou shalt be joyful.
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 unto his servants, —I pray you, look out for me a man that excelleth in playing, and bring him in unto me.
Saul replied, “[Fine/Okay], find for me a man who can play [the harp] well, and bring him to me.”
18 Then responded one of the young men and said—Lo! I have seen—a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, skilled in playing, and a mighty man of valour, and a man of war, and of intelligent speech, and a handsome man, and, Yahweh, 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 So Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, —and said, Send, unto me—David thy son, who is with the sheep.
So Saul sent this message to Jesse: “Send your son David to me, the one who takes care of sheep.”
20 Then took Jesse an ass laden with bread, and a skin of wine, and one kid, —and sent by the hand of David his son, unto 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 came in unto Saul, —and stood before him, —and he loved him greatly, and he became his armour-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 unto Jesse, saying, —I pray thee, let David stand before me, for he hath found favour in mine 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 so it used to be, when a superhuman spirit came unto Saul, then would David take the lyre, and play with his hand, —and Saul would be refreshed, and be joyful, and, the sad spirit, would depart 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.
