1 And יהוה said to Shemu’ĕl, “How long are you going to mourn for Sha’ul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Yisra’ĕl? Fill your horn with oil, and go, I am sending you to Yishai the Bĕyth Leḥemite. For I have seen among his sons a sovereign for Myself.”
2 And Shemu’ĕl said, “How would I go? When Sha’ul hears it, he shall kill me.” And יהוה said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to slaughter to יהוה.’
3 “And you shall invite Yishai to the slaughtering, then let Me show you what to do. And you shall anoint for Me the one I say to you.”
4 And Shemu’ĕl did what יהוה said, and went to Bĕyth Leḥem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come in peace?”
5 And he said, “In peace. I have come to slaughter to יהוה. Set yourselves apart, and you shall come with me to the slaughtering.” And he set Yishai and his sons apart, and invited them to the slaughtering.
6 And it came to be, when they came, that he saw Eliyaḇ and thought, “The anointed of יהוה is indeed before Him.”
7 But יהוה said to Shemu’ĕl, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him, for not as man sees, for man looks at the eyes, but יהוה looks at the heart.”
8 Then Yishai called Aḇinaḏaḇ, and made him pass before Shemu’ĕl. And he said, “Neither has יהוה chosen this one.”
9 Next Yishai made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has יהוה chosen this one.”
10 And Yishai made seven of his sons pass before Shemu’ĕl. And Shemu’ĕl said to Yishai, “יהוה has not chosen these.”
11 And Shemu’ĕl said to Yishai, “Are these all the young men?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and see, he is tending the sheep.” And Shemu’ĕl said to Yishai, “Send and bring him, for we do not turn round till he comes here.”
12 And he sent and brought him in. And he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And יהוה said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is the one!”
13 And Shemu’ĕl took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of יהוה came upon Dawiḏ from that day and onwards. And Shemu’ĕl arose and went to Ramah.
14 And the Spirit of יהוה turned aside from Sha’ul, and an evil spirit from יהוה troubled him.
15 And the servants of Sha’ul said to him, “Look, now, an evil spirit from Elohim is troubling you.
16 “Please, let our master command your servants who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skilled player on the lyre. And it shall be that when the evil spirit from Elohim is upon you, that he shall play with his hand, and you be well.”
17 And Sha’ul said to his servants, “Please get me a man that plays well, and bring him to me.”
18 And one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Yishai the Bĕyth Leḥemite, who knows how to play, a brave one, and a man of battle, and skilled in words, and a handsome man. And יהוה is with him.”
19 So Sha’ul sent messengers to Yishai, and said, “Send me your son Dawiḏ, who is with the sheep.”
20 And Yishai took a donkey loaded with bread, and a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son Dawiḏ to Sha’ul.
21 And Dawiḏ came to Sha’ul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armour-bearer.
22 Sha’ul therefore sent to Yishai, saying, “Please let Dawiḏ stand before me, for he has found favour in my eyes.”
23 And it came to be, whenever the evil spirit from Elohim was upon Sha’ul, that Dawiḏ would take a lyre and play it with his hand. Then Sha’ul would become refreshed and well, and the evil spirit would leave him.