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 Anoints David as King
1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel.#tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And the Lord said to Samuel.” Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem,#map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4. for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons.”#tn Heb “for I have seen among his sons for me a king.”
2 Samuel replied, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you#tn Heb “in your hand.” and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you should do. You will anoint for me the one I point out#tn Heb “say”; KJV, NRSV “name”; NIV “indicate.” to you.”
4 Samuel did what the Lord told him.#tn Heb “said.” When he arrived in Bethlehem,#map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4. the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They#tc In the MT the verb is singular (“he said”), but the translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss and ancient versions in reading the plural (“they said”). said, “Do you come in peace?” 5 He replied, “Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” So he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity. noticed#tn Heb “saw.” Eliab and said to himself,#tn Heb “said”; the words “to himself” are implied, given the secrecy surrounding Samuel’s mission to Bethlehem (v. 2). “Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!”#tn Heb “his anointed one.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by#tn Heb “don’t look toward.” his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do.#tn Heb “for not that which the man sees.” The translation follows the LXX, which reads, “for not as man sees does God see.” The MT has suffered from homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 274. People look on the outward appearance,#tn Heb “to the eyes.” but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel.#tn Heb “and caused him to pass before.” But Samuel#tn Heb “he” (also in v. 9); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” 9 Then Jesse presented#tn Heb “caused to pass by.” Shammah. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel.#tn Heb “caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.” This could be taken as referring to seven sons in addition to the three mentioned before this, but 1 Sam 17:12 says Jesse had eight sons, not eleven. 1 Chr 2:13-15 lists only seven sons, including David. However, 1 Chr 27:18 mentions an additional son, named Elihu. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?” Jesse#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jesse) has been specified in the translation both here and in v. 12 for clarity. replied, “There is still the youngest one, but he’s taking care of the flock.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here.”
12 So Jesse had him brought in.#tn Heb “and he sent and brought him.” Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him. This is the one!” 13 So Samuel took the horn full of olive oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day onward. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.
David Appears before Saul
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit#tn Or “an injurious spirit”; cf. NLT “a tormenting spirit.” The phrase need not refer to an evil, demonic spirit. The Hebrew word translated “evil” may refer to the character of the spirit or to its effect upon Saul. If the latter, another translation option might be “a mischief-making spirit.” from the Lord tormented him. 15 Then Saul’s servants said to him, “Look, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you!” 16 Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre#tn Heb “and he will play with his hand.” and you will feel better.”#tn Heb “and it will be better for you.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Find#tn Heb “see.” me a man who plays well and bring him to me.” 18 One of his attendants replied,#tn Heb “answered and said.” “I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem#map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4. who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior#tn Heb “mighty man of valor and a man of war.” and is articulate#tn Heb “discerning of word.” and handsome,#tn Heb “a man of form.” for the Lord is with him.”
19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is out with the sheep. 20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat#tn Heb “a kid of the goats.” and sent them to Saul with#tn Heb “by the hand of.” his son David. 21 David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal,#tn Heb “he loved him.” and he became his armor bearer. 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, “Let David be my servant, for I really like him.”#tn Heb “Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my eyes.”
23 So whenever the spirit from God would come upon Saul, David would take his lyre and play it. This would bring relief to Saul and make him feel better. Then the evil spirit would leave him alone.#tn Heb “would turn aside from upon him.”
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