Read the Bible

¹ And the Lord said to Samuel, How long dost thou mourn for Saul, whereas I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil, and come, I will send thee to Jessae, to Bethleem; for I have seen among his sons a king for me. ² And Samuel said, How can I go? whereas Saul will hear of it, and slay me: and the Lord said, Take a heifer in thine hand and thou shall say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. ³ And thou shalt call Jessae to the sacrifice, and I will make known to thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint him whom I shall mention to thee. ⁴ And Samuel did all that the Lord told him; and he came to Bethleem: and the elders of the city were amazed at meeting him, and said, Dost thou come peaceably, thou Seer? ⁵ And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and rejoice with me this day: and he sanctified Jessae and his sons, and he called them to the sacrifice.

⁶ And it came to pass when they came in, that he saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance, nor on his stature, for I have rejected him; for God sees not as man looks; for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. ⁸ And Jessae called Aminadab, and he passed before Samuel: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one. ⁹ And Jessae caused Sama to pass by: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one. ¹⁰ And Jessae caused his seven sons to pass before Samuel: and Samuel said, the Lord has not chosen these. ¹¹ And Samuel said to Jessae, Hast thou no more sons? And Jessae said, There is yet a little one; behold, he tends the flock. And Samuel said to Jessae, Send and fetch him for we may not sit down till he comes. ¹² And he sent and fetched him: and he was ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and very goodly to behold. And the Lord said to Samuel, Arise, and anoint David, for he is good. ¹³ And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward: and Samuel arose, and departed to Armathaim.

¹⁴ And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. ¹⁵ And Saul’s servants said to him, Behold now, and evil spirit from the Lord torments thee. ¹⁶ Let now thy servants speak before thee, and let them seek for our lord a man skilled to play on the harp; and it shall come to pass when an evil spirit comes upon thee and he shall play on his harp, that thou shalt be well, and he shall refresh thee. ¹⁷ And Saul said to his servants, Look now out for me a skillful player, and bring him to me. ¹⁸ And one of his servants answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jessae the Bethleemite, and he understands playing on the harp, and the man is prudent, and a warrior, and wise in speech, and the man is handsome, and the Lord is with him. ¹⁹ And Saul sent messengers to Jessae, saying, Send to me thy son David who is with thy flock. ²⁰ And Jessae took a homer of bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sent them by the hand of his son David to Saul. ²¹ And David went in to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer. ²² And Saul sent to Jessae, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he has found grace in my eyes. ²³ And it came to pass when the evil spirit was upon Saul, that David took his harp, and played with his hand: and Saul was refreshed, and it was well with him, and the evil spirit departed from him.