1 Samuel 16
16
Samuel Goes to Bethlehem
1The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you feel sorry for Saul? I have rejected him as king of Israel. Fill your horn#16:1 horn An animal’s horn is hollow and often used like a bottle. with oil and go to Bethlehem. I am sending you to Jesse who lives in Bethlehem, because I have chosen one of his sons to be the new king.”
2But Samuel said, “If I go, Saul will hear the news and try to kill me.”
The Lord said, “Go to Bethlehem. Take a young calf with you and tell them, ‘I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice. Then I will show you what to do. You must anoint the person I show you.”
4Samuel did what the Lord told him to do and went to Bethlehem. The elders of Bethlehem shook with fear. They met Samuel and asked, “Do you come in peace?”
5Samuel answered, “Yes, I come in peace. I come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Prepare yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Samuel prepared Jesse and his sons. Then he invited them to come and share the sacrifice.
6When Jesse and his sons arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the man who the Lord has chosen.”
7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Eliab is tall and handsome, but don’t judge by things like that. God doesn’t look at what people see. People judge by what is on the outside, but the Lord looks at the heart. Eliab is not the right man.”
8Then Jesse called his second son, Abinadab. Abinadab walked by Samuel. But Samuel said, “No, this is not the man who the Lord chose.”
9Then Jesse told Shammah to walk by Samuel. But Samuel said, “No, the Lord did not choose this man, either.”
10Jesse showed seven of his sons to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these men.”
11Then he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse answered, “No, I have another son—my youngest, but he is out taking care of the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him. Bring him here. We won’t sit down to eat until he arrives.”
12Jesse sent someone to get his youngest son. This son was a good-looking, healthy#16:12 healthy The Hebrew word means “red,” “ruddy,” or “red-haired.” young man. He was very handsome.
The Lord said to Samuel, “Get up and anoint him. He is the one.”
13Samuel took the horn with the oil in it, and poured the special oil on Jesse’s youngest son in front of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord came on David with great power from that day on. Then Samuel went back home to Ramah.
An Evil Spirit Bothers Saul
14The Lord’s Spirit left Saul. Then the Lord sent an evil spirit to Saul that caused him much trouble. 15Saul’s servants said to him, “An evil spirit from God is bothering you. 16Give us the command and we will look for someone who can play the harp. If the evil spirit from God comes on you, this person will play music for you. Then you will feel better.”
17So Saul said to his servants, “Find someone who plays music well and bring him to me.”
18One of the servants said, “There is a man named Jesse living in Bethlehem. I saw Jesse’s son. He knows how to play the harp. He is also a brave man and fights well. He is smart and handsome, and the Lord is with him.”
19So Saul sent messengers to Jesse. They told Jesse, “You have a son named David. He takes care of your sheep. Send him to me.”
20So Jesse got some things as a gift for Saul. Jesse got a donkey, some bread and a leather bag full of wine, and a young goat. He gave them to David and sent him to Saul. 21So David went to Saul and stood in front of him. Saul loved David very much. David became the helper who carried Saul’s weapons. 22Saul sent a message to Jesse. “Let David stay and serve me. I like him very much.”
23Any time the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David would take his harp and play it. The evil spirit would leave Saul and he would begin to feel better.
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1 Samuel 16: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
1 Samuel 16
16
1The Lord asked Samuel, “How long are you going to continue to mourn over Saul because I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your flask#16:1. “Flask”: literally, “horn.” with olive oil and go. I'm sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen a king for myself from among his sons.”
2“How can I go and do that?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear about it and kill me!”
The Lord answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I've come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you have to do. Anoint for me the one I tell you to.”
4Samuel did what the Lord had told him to and went to Bethlehem. When the town elders met him, they were afraid and asked him, “Do you come in peace?”
5“Yes, I come in peace,” he replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He purified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6When they arrived and Samuel saw Eliab, he said to himself, “This has got to be the Lord's anointed!”
7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don't look at his outward appearance or how tall he is, because I have rejected him, for the Lord does not look as human beings do. Human beings only see with their eyes what's on the outside, but the Lord looks at the way people think deep inside.”
8Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him come before Samuel, who said, “The Lord hasn't chosen this one either.”
9Then Jesse had Shammah come forward. But Samuel said, “The Lord hasn't chosen this one either.”
10Jesse had seven of his sons come before Samuel, but Samuel told him, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”
11So he asked Jesse, “Don't you have any more sons?”
“Well, there's still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is out looking after the sheep.”
“Send for him and bring him here because we will not sit down and eat#16:11. “Sit down and eat”: literally, “surround.” This is usually thought to mean to surround a table before sitting down, but it could also mean to “surround” an altar, i.e. the beginning of the sacrificial rituals. until he gets here,” Samuel told Jesse.
12So Jesse sent for him and brought him in. He had a red complexion with beautiful eyes, and looked handsome. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him, for he's the one.”
13Samuel took the flask of olive oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came on David in power from that day on. Then Samuel left and returned to Ramah.
14The Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.#16:14. As in other parts of Scripture, God is sometimes presented as doing something he does not actually prevent. The removal of the Spirit of the Lord left Saul open to control by another spirit. The way the servants react shows that this was a common view of the time—God is given responsibility for Saul's problems. 15Saul's servants told him, “It's definitely an evil spirit from God that's tormenting you. 16Give us your servants here the order to find someone who is good at playing the harp so that when the evil spirit from God comes on you, he can play and you'll feel much better.”
17Saul gave the order to his servants, “Find me someone who is good at playing the harp and bring him to me.”
18One of the servants replied, “I know a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who is good at playing the harp. He is a brave man, a good fighter, well-spoken and handsome, and the Lord is with him.”
19Saul sent messengers to Jesse, telling him, “Send me your son David who takes care of the sheep.”
20So Jesse loaded a donkey with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. 21David came to Saul and began working for him. Saul thought a great deal of him, and David became his armor-bearer.
22Saul sent a message to Jesse, saying, “Please allow David to continue working for me because I am pleased with him.”
23So whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take his harp and play, and Saul would gain relief and feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com