1 Samuel 16
1BECAUSE Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord repented that He had made Saul king over Israel, therefore the Lord said to Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul? As for Me, I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill thy horn with oil, and come, let Me send thee to Jessai to Bethlehem; for I have seen among his sons a king for Me.
2And Samuel said, How can I go? Saul will hear and will kill me. And the Lord said, Take with thee a heifer from the kine, and thou shalt say, I come to sacrifice to the Lord;
3and thou shalt invite Jessai to the sacrifice, and I will let thee know what thou shalt do, and thou shalt anoint him whom I point out to thee.
4So Samuel did all that the Lord spoke to him. Now when he came to Bethlehem, the elders of the city were surprised at meeting him, and said, Seer! Is thy coming peaceable?
5And he said, It is peaceable. I come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and rejoice with me to-day.
6And when he was hallowing Jessai and his sons and inviting them to the sacrifice, he beheld Eliab as they were coming in and said, Is not the Lord’s anointed before Him?
7But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, nor the height of his stature, for I have rejected him: for God looketh not superficially as man looketh; for man looketh at the outward appearance, but God will look to the heart.
8Then Jessai called Aminadab, and he passed by before Samuel. And when he said God hath not chosen him,
9Jessai brought forward Sama; but he said, Neither hath the Lord made choice of him.
10And when Jessai had brought his seven sons before Samuel, Samuel said, The Lord hath not made a choice among these.
11Then Samuel said to Jessai, Are these all thy children? And he said, There is still one more, the youngest. Behold he is tending the flock. And Samuel said to Jessai, Send for him; for we cannot sit down till he come.
12So he sent for him. Now he was of a ruddy complexion, with beautiful eyes, and comely in appearance to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, Arise and anoint David, for he is good.
13So Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David, from that day forward. Then Samuel arose and went to Armathaim.
14And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul; and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.
15Whereupon the servants of Saul said to him, Behold now an evil spirit from the Lord tormenteth thee.
16Pray let thy servants before thee give orders, and seek for our lord a man who is skilled in playing on a harp. And when the evil spirit is upon thee, let him play on his harp, and it will be good for thee and give thee ease.
17And Saul said to his servants, Look out, I pray you, for a man who playeth well, and bring him to me.
18And one of his servants answered and said, Behold I have seen a son of Jessai the Bethlehemite. He is skilled in music, and is a man of understanding and a warrior, graceful in speech, and of a comely appearance, and the Lord is with him.
19Thereupon Saul sent messengers to Jessai saying, Send to me thy son David who is with the flock.
20So Jessai took a gomer of bread, and a skin of wine, and a kid of the goats, and sent them to Saul by the hand of his son David.
21And when David came to Saul, and stood before him, he loved him greatly, and made him his armour-bearer.
22And Saul sent to Jessai, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.
23And whenever the evil spirit came upon Saul, David took his harp, and played with his hand, and it composed Saul and gave him relief; and the evil spirit departed from him.