1 Samuel 16
16
Samuel Anoints David as King
1#1Sa 15:23; 15:35The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from ruling over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself from among his sons.”
2#1Sa 9:12; 20:29Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”
And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3#1Sa 9:16; Ex 4:15Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do. And you will anoint for Me him whom I tell to you.”
4#1Ki 2:13; 2Ki 9:22Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come in peace?”
5#Ex 19:10; Jos 3:5And he said, “I have come in peace to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.
6#1Sa 17:13When they came, he looked on Eliab, and said, “Surely the anointed of the Lord is before Him.”
7#1Ki 8:39; 1Ch 28:9But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
8#1Sa 17:13Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9#1Sa 17:13Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10So Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11#2Sa 7:8; Ps 78:70–71Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all your young men?”
And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is shepherding the flock.”
Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
12#1Sa 9:17; 17:42So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and a good appearance.
And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
13#1Sa 10:1; 10:6Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
David Serves Saul
14#Jdg 9:23; 1Sa 18:10Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him.
15So the servants of Saul said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God troubles you. 16#2Ki 3:15; 1Sa 16:21–23Let our lord now tell your servants, who are before you, that they might seek out a man experienced in playing the lyre. And it will come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he will play with his hand, and you will be well.”
17Saul said to his servants, “Find me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.”
18#1Sa 3:19; 17:32–36Then one from the servants answered, and said, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is experienced in playing music, a mighty man of valor, a man of battle, and skillful in words, even a man of fine appearance. And the Lord is with him.”
19#1Sa 16:11; 17:15Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20#1Sa 10:27; Pr 18:16Jesse took a donkey laden with bread, a bottle of wine, and a young goat and he sent them with his son David to Saul.
21#Ge 41:46; Pr 22:29David came to Saul, and stood before him. And Saul loved him greatly and he became his armor bearer. 22Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.”
23It happened that when the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David would take the lyre in his hand and play. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
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1 Samuel 16: MEV
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Military Bible Association
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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