1 Samuel 16
16
Samuel Anoints David as King
1Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”
2But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”
4So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”
5“Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.
6When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”
7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the Lord has chosen.” 9Next Jesse summoned Shimea,#16:9 Hebrew Shammah, a variant spelling of Shimea; compare 1 Chr 2:13; 20:7. but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the Lord has chosen.” 10In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”
“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
12So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.
And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”
13So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.
David Serves in Saul’s Court
14Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit#16:14 Or an evil spirit; also in 16:15, 16, 23. that filled him with depression and fear.
15Some of Saul’s servants said to him, “A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you. 16Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.”
17“All right,” Saul said. “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here.”
18One of the servants said to Saul, “One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that—he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the Lord is with him.”
19So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, the shepherd.” 20Jesse responded by sending David to Saul, along with a young goat, a donkey loaded with bread, and a wineskin full of wine.
21So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer.
22Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, “Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.”
23And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.
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1 Samuel 16: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Sh'mu'el Alef (1 Sa) 16
16
1Adonai said to Sh’mu’el, “How much longer are you going to go on grieving for Sha’ul, now that I have rejected him as king over Isra’el? Fill your horn with oil, and set out; I will send you to Yishai the Beit-Lachmi, because I have chosen myself a king from among his sons.” 2Sh’mu’el said, “How can I go? If Sha’ul hears of it, he will have me killed.” Adonai said, “Take a female cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Adonai.’ 3Summon Yishai to the sacrifice. I will tell you what to do, and you are to anoint for me the person I point out to you.”
4Sh’mu’el did what Adonai said and arrived at Beit-Lechem. The leaders of the city came trembling to meet him and asked, “Are you coming in peace?” 5He answered, “In peace. I have come to sacrifice to Adonai. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” He consecrated Yishai and his sons and summoned them to the sacrifice. 6When they had come, he looked at Eli’av and said, “This has to be Adonai’s anointed one, here before him.” 7But Adonai said to Sh’mu’el, “Don’t pay attention to how he looks or how tall he is, because I have rejected him. Adonai doesn’t see the way humans see — humans look at the outward appearance, but Adonai looks at the heart.” 8Then Yishai called Avinadav and presented him to Sh’mu’el; but he said, “Adonai hasn’t chosen this one either.” 9Yishai presented Shammah; again Sh’mu’el said, “Adonai hasn’t chosen this one either.” 10Yishai presented seven of his sons to Sh’mu’el; but Sh’mu’el told Yishai, “Adonai has not chosen these. 11Are all your sons here?” Sh’mu’el asked Yishai. He replied, “There is still the youngest; he’s out there tending the sheep.” Sh’mu’el said to Yishai, “Send and bring him back, because we won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.” 12He sent and brought him in. With ruddy cheeks, red hair and bright eyes, he was a good-looking fellow. Adonai said, “Stand up and anoint him; he’s the one.” 13Sh’mu’el took the horn of oil and anointed him there in his brothers’ presence. From that day on, the Spirit of Adonai would fall upon David with power. So Sh’mu’el set out and went to Ramah.
14Now the Spirit of Adonai had left Sha’ul; instead, an evil spirit from Adonai would suddenly come over him. 15Sha’ul’s servants said to him, “Do you notice that there’s an evil spirit from God that suddenly comes over you? 16Let our lord now command your servants who are here with you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then, if the evil spirit from God comes over you, he will play; and it will do you good.” 17Sha’ul said to his servants, “Find me a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” 18One of the young men answered, “Here, I’ve seen one of the sons of Yishai the Beit-Lachmi who knows how to play. He’s a brave soldier, he can fight, he chooses his words carefully and he’s pleasant-looking. Besides, Adonai is with him.” 19So Sha’ul sent messengers to Yishai saying, “Send me David your son, who is out with the sheep.” 20Yishai took a donkey, loaded it with bread, a bottle of wine and a kid, and sent them with David his son to Sha’ul. 21David came to Sha’ul and presented himself to him. Sha’ul took a great liking to him and made him his armor-bearer. 22Sha’ul sent a message to Yishai: “Please let David stay in my service, because I’m pleased with him.” 23So it was that whenever the [evil] spirit from God came over Sha’ul, David would take the lyre and play it, with the result that Sha’ul would find relief and feel better, as the evil spirit left him.
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