I Samuel Chapter 16

I Samuel 16 — English translation

Translation: THE JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition. Verse numbers match the Hebrew text below.

1. 1And G OD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and set out; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have decided on one of his sons to be king.”
2. 2Samuel replied, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” G OD answered, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to G OD .’
3. 3Invite Jesse to the sacrificial feast, and then I will make known to you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I point out to you.”
4. 4Samuel did what G OD commanded. When he came to Bethlehem, the elders of the city went out in alarm to meet him and said, “Do you come on a peaceful errand?”
5. 5“Yes,” he replied, “I have come to sacrifice to G OD . Purify yourselves and join me in the sacrificial feast.” He also instructed Jesse and his sons to purify themselves and invited them to the sacrificial feast.
6. 6When they arrived and he saw Eliab, he thought: “Surely G OD ’s anointed stands here.”
7. 7But G OD said to Samuel, “Pay no attention to his appearance or his stature, for I have rejected him. For [G OD sees] not as humans see; humans see only what is visible, but G OD sees into the heart.”
8. 8Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel; but he said, “G OD has not chosen this one either.”
9. 9Next Jesse presented Shammah; and again he said, “G OD has not chosen this one either.”
10. 10Thus Jesse presented seven of his sons before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “G OD has not chosen any of these.”
11. 11Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the boys you have?” He replied, “There is still the youngest; he is tending the flock.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send someone to bring him, for we will not sit down to eat until he gets here.”
12. 12So they sent and brought him. He was ruddy-cheeked, bright-eyed, and handsome. And G OD said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.”
13. 13Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of G OD gripped David from that day on. Samuel then set out for Ramah.
14. 14Now the spirit of G OD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from G OD began to terrify him.
15. 15Saul’s courtiers said to him, “An evil spirit of God is terrifying you.
16. 16Let our lord give the order [and] the courtiers in attendance on you will look for someone who is skilled at playing the lyre; whenever the evil spirit of God comes over you, he will play it and you will feel better.”
17. 17So Saul said to his courtiers, “Find me someone who can play well and bring him to me.”
18. 18One of the attendants spoke up, “I have observed a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skilled in music; he is a stalwart fellow and a warrior, sensible in speech, and handsome in appearance—and G OD is with him.”
19. 19Whereupon Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the flock.”
20. 20Jesse took a donkey [laden with] bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them to Saul by his son David.
21. 21So David came to Saul and entered his service; [Saul] took a strong liking to him and made him one of his arms-bearers.
22. 22Saul sent word to Jesse, “Let David remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.”
23. 23Whenever the [evil] spirit of God came upon Saul, David would take the lyre and play it; Saul would find relief and feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

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