1 Samuel 16

1 And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Till when art thou mourning for Saul, and I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I send thee unto Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, for I have seen among his sons for Myself a king.

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

2 And Samuel saith, 'How do I go? when Saul hath heard, then he hath slain me.' And Jehovah saith, 'A heifer of the herd thou dost take in thy hand, and hast said, To sacrifice to Jehovah I have come;

And Samuel said, How can I go? whereas Saul will hear of it, and slay me: and the Lord said, Take a heifer in thine hand and thou shall say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.

3 and thou hast called for Jesse in the sacrifice, and I cause thee to know that which thou dost do, and thou hast anointed to Me him of whom I speak unto thee.'

And thou shalt call Jessae to the sacrifice, and I will make known to thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint him whom I shall mention to thee.

4 And Samuel doth that which Jehovah hath spoken, and cometh in to Beth-Lehem, and the elders of the city tremble to meet him, and [one] saith, 'Is thy coming peace?'

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, Dost thou come peaceably, thou Seer?

5 and he saith, 'Peace; to sacrifice to Jehovah I have come, sanctify yourselves, and ye have come in with me to the sacrifice;' and he sanctifieth Jesse and his sons, and calleth them to the sacrifice.

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.

6 And it cometh to pass, in their coming in, that he seeth Eliab, and saith, 'Surely, before Jehovah [is] His anointed.'

And it came to pass when they came in, that he saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed [is] before him.

7 And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Look not unto his appearance, and unto the height of his stature, for I have rejected him; for [it is] not as man seeth — for man looketh at the eyes, and Jehovah looketh at the heart.'

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.

8 And Jesse calleth unto Abinadab, and causeth him to pass by before Samuel; and he saith, 'Also on this Jehovah hath not fixed.'

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

9 And Jesse causeth Shammah to pass by, and he saith, 'Also on this Jehovah hath not fixed.'

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

10 And Jesse causeth seven of his sons to pass by before Samuel, and Samuel saith to Jesse, 'Jehovah hath not fixed on these.'

And Jessae caused his seven sons to pass before Samuel: and Samuel said, the Lord has not chosen these.

11 And Samuel saith unto Jesse, 'Are the young men finished?' and he saith, 'Yet hath been left the youngest; and lo, he delighteth himself among the flock;' and Samuel saith unto Jesse, 'Send and take him, for we do not turn round till his coming in hither.'

And Samuel said to Jessae, Hast thou 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.

12 And he sendeth, and bringeth him in, and he [is] ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and of good appearance; and Jehovah saith, 'Rise, anoint him, for this [is] he.'

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.

13 And Samuel taketh the horn of oil, and anointeth him in the midst of his brethren, and prosper over David doth the Spirit of Jehovah from that day and onwards; and Samuel riseth and goeth to Ramath.

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.

14 And the Spirit of Jehovah turned aside from Saul, and a spirit of sadness from Jehovah terrified him;

And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

15 and the servants of Saul say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, a spirit of sadness [from] God is terrifying thee;

And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, and evil spirit from the Lord torments thee.

16 let our lord command, we pray thee, thy servants before thee, they seek a skilful man, playing on a harp, and it hath come to pass, in the spirit of sadness [from] God being upon thee, that he hath played with his hand, and [it is] well with thee.'

Let now thy servants speak before thee, 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 thee and he shall play on his harp, that thou shalt be well, and he shall refresh thee.

17 And Saul saith unto his servants, 'Provide, I pray you, for me a man playing well — then ye have brought [him] in unto me.'

And Saul said to his servants, Look now out for me a skilful player, and bring him to me.

18 And one of the servants answereth and saith, 'Lo, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, skilful in playing, and a mighty virtuous man, and a man of battle, and intelligent in word, and a man of form, and Jehovah [is] with him.'

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.

19 And Saul sendeth messengers unto Jesse, and saith, 'Send unto me David thy son, who [is] with the flock.'

And Saul sent messengers to Jessae, saying, Send to me thy son David who is with thy flock.

20 And Jesse taketh an ass, [with] bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sendeth by the hand of David his son unto Saul.

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.

21 And David cometh in unto Saul, and standeth before him, and he loveth him greatly; and he is a bearer of his weapons.

And David went in to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer.

22 And Saul sendeth unto Jesse, saying, 'Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he hath found grace in mine eyes.'

And Saul sent to Jessae, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he has found grace in my eyes.

23 And it hath come to pass, in the spirit of [sadness from] God being on Saul, that David hath taken the harp, and played with his hand, and Saul hath refreshment and gladness, and the spirit of sadness hath turned aside from off him.

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.