1 Samuel 16

1 And the LORD said to Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king 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 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul shall hear [it], he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I have 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 call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint to me [him] whom I name to 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 the LORD spoke, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

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 have come to sacrifice to the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and 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 had come, that he looked on 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 countenance, or on the hight of his stature; because I have refused him: for [the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on 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 hath the LORD chosen this.

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 to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

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 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The LORD hath 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 Jesse, Are here all [thy] children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him: for we will not sit down till he hath come 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 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he [was] ruddy, [and] also of a beautiful countenance, and a good appearance. And the LORD said, Arise, 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 Then 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. So Samuel arose, and went 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 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled 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, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

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

16 Let our lord now command thy servants, [who are] before thee, to seek a man [who is] a skillful player on a harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he will play with his hand, and thou wilt be well.

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, Provide me now a man that can play well, 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 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, [that is] skillful in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, 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 Wherefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, Send to 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 And Jesse took an ass [laden] with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent [them] by David his son 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 came 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 Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight.

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 from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, 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.