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¹ And Yahweh said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill your horn with oil, and go: I will send you to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I have provided myself a king among his sons.² And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hears it, he will kill me. And Yahweh said, Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.³ And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do: and you shall anoint to me him whom I name to you.⁴ And Samuel did that which Yahweh spoke, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, Do you come peaceably?⁵ And he said, Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

⁶ And it came to pass, when they had come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely Yahweh's anointed is before him.⁷ But Yahweh said to Samuel, Don't look on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for [it is] not [a matter of] what man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks on the heart.⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has Yahweh chosen this.⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither has Yahweh chosen this.¹⁰ And Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, Yahweh has not chosen these.¹¹ And Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your lads here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and, look, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.¹² And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and as well of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look at. And Yahweh said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers: and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh troubled him.¹⁵ And Saul's slaves said to him, Look now, an evil spirit from God troubles you.¹⁶ Let our lord now command your slaves, that are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play with his hand, and you shall be well.¹⁷ And Saul said to his slaves, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.¹⁸ Then one of the young men answered, and said, Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skillful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war, and prudent in speech, and a comely person; and Yahweh is with him.¹⁹ Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.²⁰ And Jesse took a donkey [laden] with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by David his son to Saul.²¹ And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armorbearer.²² And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray you, stand before me; for he has found favor in my sight.²³ And it came to pass, when the [evil] spirit from God was on Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.