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David Anointed King

¹ Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "^(C1)How long will you be grieving over Saul? ^(C2)I have rejected him from being king over Israel. ^(C3)Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to ^(C4)Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I ^(C5)see among his sons a king for Me."² But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear of it and will kill me." Then Yahweh said, "^(C1)Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.'³ "And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and ^(C1)I will make you know what you shall do; and ^(C2)you shall anoint for Me the one whom I say to you."⁴ So Samuel did what Yahweh said and came to ^(C1)Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, "^(C2)Do you come in peace?"⁵ And he said, "In peace; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. ^(C1)Set yourselves apart as holy and come with me to the sacrifice." He also set apart Jesse and his sons as holy and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ Now it happened, when they entered, he looked at ^(C1)Eliab and thought, "Surely the anointed of Yahweh is before Him."⁷ But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for ^(F1)God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, ^(C1)but Yahweh looks at the heart."⁸ Then Jesse called ^(C1)Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Yahweh has not chosen this one either."⁹ Next Jesse made ^(F1)(C1)Shammah pass by. And he said, "Yahweh has not chosen this one either."¹⁰ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, "Yahweh has not chosen these."¹¹ And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are these all the young men?" And he said, "^(C1)There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is shepherding the sheep." Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and ^(F1)bring him, for we will not turn around until he comes here."¹² So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with ^(C1)beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And Yahweh said, "^(C2)Arise, anoint him, for this is he."¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and ^(C1)anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and ^(C2)the Spirit of Yahweh ^(F1)came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

David Becomes Saul's Armor Bearer

^14 (C1)Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and ^(C2)an evil spirit from Yahweh terrorized him.¹⁵ Saul's servants then said to him, "Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you.¹⁶ "Let our lord now speak to your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, ^(C1)he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well."¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me."¹⁸ Then one of the young men answered and said, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, ^(C1)a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one who is understanding in speech, and man of fine form; and ^(C2)Yahweh is with him."¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David who is with the flock."²⁰ And Jesse ^(C1)took a donkey loaded with bread and a wineskin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David his son.²¹ Then David came to Saul and ^(C1)stood before him; and ^(F1)Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.²² So Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight."²³ Thus it happened that whenever ^(C1)the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.