1 Samuel 16
16
David Anointed King
1The Lord said to Samuel, #ch. 15:35 “How long will you grieve over Saul, since #ch. 15:23, 26 I have rejected him from being king over Israel? #See ch. 10:1 Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, #Ps. 78:70; 89:19, 20; Acts 13:22for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, #[ch. 9:12; 20:29]‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. #ch. 9:16And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city #ch. 21:1 came to meet him trembling and said, #1 Kgs. 2:13; [2 Kgs. 9:22]“Do you come peaceably?” 5And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. #Josh. 3:5Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6When they came, he looked on #ch. 17:13Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7But the Lord said to Samuel, #Ps. 147:10, 11 “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: man looks on the outward appearance, #1 Kgs. 8:39; 1 Chr. 28:9; Ps. 7:9; Jer. 11:20; 17:10; 20:12; [Acts 1:24]but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8Then Jesse called #ch. 17:13Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9Then Jesse made #[See ver. 8 above]Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, #ch. 17:13; [2 Sam. 13:3; 1 Chr. 2:13] “There remains yet the youngest,#16:11 Or smallest but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, #[2 Sam. 7:8; Ps. 78:70, 71]“Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12And he sent and brought him in. Now he was #ch. 17:42 ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, #[ch. 9:17]“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13Then Samuel took #ver. 1 the horn of oil #[ch. 10:1; Ps. 89:20] and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. #ch. 10:6, 10; 11:6; See Judg. 3:10And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
David in Saul’s Service
14 # ch. 18:12; 28:15, 16; [Judg. 16:20] Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, #ch. 18:10; 19:9; [Judg. 9:23]and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16Let our lord now command your servants #ver. 21, 22; 1 Kgs. 10:8 who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will #ch. 18:10; 19:9; [2 Kgs. 3:15]play it, and you will be well.” 17So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, #See ch. 17:32, 34-36 a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, #ch. 3:19; 18:12, 14and the Lord is with him.” 19Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, #ver. 11; ch. 17:15, 34who is with the sheep.” 20#[ch. 17:18]And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21And David came to Saul #See ver. 16and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23And #ver. 14, 16 whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre #[See ver. 16 above]and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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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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