1 And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil and go; I will send thee to Jesse of Bethlehem for I have provided me a king among his sons.
2 And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul understands it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take a heifer with thee and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.
3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do, and thou shalt anoint unto me the one whom I name unto thee.
4 And Samuel did as the Lord said and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming and said, Comest thou peaceably?
5 And he said, Peaceably; I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord; 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 were come, that he looked on Eliab and said, Peradventure is the Lord’s anointed before him?
7 And the Lord replied unto Samuel, Do not look on his countenance or on the height of his stature because I have refused him, for it is not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one.
9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one.
10 Again, Jesse made his seven sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these.
11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are all thy young men here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and, behold, he keeps the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send for him, for we will not sit down to the table until he comes here.
12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and of a beautiful countenance and handsome. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he.
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him from among his brethren; and the Spirit of the Lord prospered David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
15 And Saul’s slaves said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubles thee.
16 Let our lord now command thy slaves, which are before thee, to seek out a man who is a cunning player on a harp, and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand and thou shalt have relief.
17 And Saul said unto his slaves, Provide me now a man that can play well and bring him to me.
18 Then one of the servants answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem, that is cunning in playing and a mighty valiant man and a man of war and prudent in speech and handsome, and the Lord is with him.
19 Therefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse and said, Send me David, thy son, who is with the sheep.
20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread and a bottle of wine and a kid and sent them by David, his son, unto Saul.
21 And David came to Saul and stood before him; and he loved him greatly, and he became his armourbearer.
22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he has found favour in my sight.
23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp and played with his hand; so Saul was refreshed and was better, and the evil spirit departed from him.