1 AND the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.
3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.
4 And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Beth-lehem. 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, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.
7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.
9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.
10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these.
11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
13 Then 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. 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 servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an 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 be well.
17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.
19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which 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 hath found favour in my sight.
23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

1And the Lord said vnto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourne for Saul, seeing I haue reiected him from reigning ouer Israel? Fill thine horne with oile, and goe, I will send thee to Iesse the Bethlehemite: for I haue prouided mee a King among his sonnes.

2And Samuel said, How can I goe? if Saul heare it, he will kill mee. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.

3And call Iesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt doe: and thou shalt anoynt vnto mee him whom I name vnto thee.

4And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem: and the elders of the towne trembled at his comming, and said, Commest thou peaceably?

5And hee said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice vnto the Lord: sanctifie your selues, and come with me to the sacrifice: and he sanctified Iesse, and his sonnes, and called them to the sacrifice.

6 And it came to passe when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lords anointed is before him.

7But the Lord said vnto Samuel, Looke not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature, because I haue refused him: for the Lord seeth not, as man seeth; For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

8Then Iesse called Abinadab, and made him passe before Samuel: and he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.

9Then Iesse made Shammah to passe by: and he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.

10Againe Iesse made seuen of his sonnes to passe before Samuel; and Samuel said vnto Iesse, The Lord hath not chosen these.

11And Samuel saide vnto Iesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the yongest, and behold, he keepeth the sheepe. And Samuel said vnto Iesse, Send, and fetch him: for we will not sit downe, till hee come hither.

12And he sent, and brought him in: now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautifull countenance, and goodly to looke to: And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

13Then Samuel tooke the horne of oile, and annointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came vpon Dauid, from that day forward: So Samuel rose vp and went to Ramah.

14 But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an euil spirit from the Lord troubled him.

15And Sauls seruants said vnto him, Behold now, an euill spirit from God troubleth thee.

16Let our lord now command thy seruants which are before thee, to seeke out a man, who is a cunning player on an harpe: and it shall come to passe when the euill spirit from God is vpon thee, that hee shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

17And Saul said vnto his seruants, Prouide mee now a man, that can play well, and bring him to me.

18Then answered one of the seruants, and said, Behold, I haue seene a sonne of Iesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of warre, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.

19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers vnto Iesse, and said, Send me Dauid thy sonne, which is with the sheepe.

20And Iesse tooke an asse laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by Dauid his sonne vnto Saul.

21And Dauid came to Saul, and stood before him: and hee loued him greatly, and hee became his armour bearer.

22And Saul sent to Iesse, saying, Let Dauid, I pray thee, stand before me: for hee hath found fauour in my sight.

23And it came to passe, when the euill spirit from God was vpon Saul, that Dauid tooke an harpe, and played with his hand: So Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the euill spirit departed from him.

I == 2nd Kings 9:1 ; Ps 78:70 ; 89:19-20

 

 

II == 9:12 ; 20:29

 

 

III == Ex 4:15 ; 1st Sam 9:16

 

 

IV == 1st Sam 21:1 ; 1st Kings 2:13 ; 2nd Kings 9:22

V == Ex 19:10 , 14

 

 

VI == 1st jSam 17:13 ; 1st Kings 12:26 ; 1st Chr 27:18

 

VII == 1st Kings 8:39 ; Ps 7:9 ; Jer 11:20 ; Acts 1:24 ; 2nd Cor 10:7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XI == 1st Sam 17:12 ; 2nd Sam 7:8 ; Ps 78:70

 

 

XII == 1st Sam 17:42 ; Song 5:10

 

 

XIII == Num 27:18 ; Judg 11:29 ; 13:25 ; 14:6 ; 1st Sam 10:1 , 6 , 10 ; Ps 89:20

XIV == Judg 9:23 ; 16:20 ; 1st Sam 11:6 ; 18:10 , 12 ; 19:9 ; 28:15 ; Ps 51:11

XVI == Gen 41:46 ; 1st Sam 16:21-23 ; 1st KIngs 10:8 ; 2nd Kings 3:15

 

 

 

 

 

XVIII == 1st Sam 3:19 ; 17:32 , 34-36 ; 18:12 , 14

 

 

XIX == 1st Sam 16:11 ; 17:15 , 34

XX == Gen 43:11 ; 1st Sam 10:27 ; 17:18 ; Prov 18:16

XXI == Gen 41:46 ; 1st Kings 10:8 ; Prov 22:29

 

 

XXIII == 1st Sam 16:14 , 16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The LORD said to Samuel: "How long will you grieve for Saul, whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons."

2 But Samuel replied: "How can I go? Saul will hear of it and kill me." To this the LORD answered: "Take a heifer along and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.'

3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do; you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you."

4 Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him. When he entered Bethlehem, the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired, "Is your visit peaceful, O seer?"

5 He replied: "Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet." He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is here before him."

7 But the LORD said to Samuel: "Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart."

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel, who said, "The Lord has not chosen him."

9 Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either."

10 In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any one of these."

11 Then Samuel asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" Jesse replied, "There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here."

12 Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The LORD said, "There-anoint him, for this is he!"

13 Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David. When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.

14 The spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and he was tormented by an evil spirit sent by the LORD.

15 So the servants of Saul said to him: "Please! An evil spirit from God is tormenting you.

16 If your lordship will order it, we, your servants here in attendance on you, will look for a man skilled in playing the harp. When the evil spirit from God comes over you, he will play and you will feel better."

17 Saul then told his servants, "Find me a skillful harpist and bring him to me."

18 A servant spoke up to say: "I have observed that one of the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem is a skillful harpist. He is also a stalwart soldier, besides being an able speaker, and handsome. Moreover, the LORD is with him."

19 Accordingly, Saul dispatched messengers to ask Jesse to send him his son David, who was with the flock.

20 Then Jesse took five loaves of bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them to Saul by his son David.

21 Thus David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul became very fond of him, made him his armor-bearer,

22 and sent Jesse the message, "Allow David to remain in my service, for he meets with my approval."

23 Whenever the spirit from God seized Saul, David would take the harp and play, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, for the evil spirit would leave him.

 

v 1. Samuel needed to quit mourning for Saul and go on with life. We may be disappointed in the spiritual lives of some we know, but there are others out there who need us. The rest of 1 Sam. deals with the parallel lives of David and Saul till he died.

v 2-5. Samuel had already told Saul he would be replaced by a neighbor better than he, 15:28. From Saul’s first violent act, v 27, and the broken relationship, Samuel knew Saul would kill him if he anointed another to be king. The Lord did not ask him to lie, but to be discreet. He was to actually sacrifice, but he was also to call Jesse to the sacrifice. The elders of Bethlehem were frightened that Samuel had come to their town in judgment. He assured them he came in peace, and they, Jesse and his sons were to sanctify themselves and come to the sacrifice.

v 6,7. Samuel was taken in by the stature and good looks of Eliab, but the Lord reminded him that He looks on the heart, not the outward appearance.

 

 

v 8-11. The Lord did not accept any of the first seven sons. Young, insignificant David was tending sheep while the others went to the feast, almost like a Cinderella story, but Samuel would not start the feast till he came.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 12-13. David was red headed with fair skin, nice eyes and handsome, but the Lord still looked on the heart in choosing him. Samuel went on to Ramah, but the Spirit of the Lord came upon David to indicate the Lord’s appointment. Compare Saul, 10:6. The Spirit did not come on him for salvation, but for authentication of God’s will. None of them probably knew at this time that he was being anointed to be king. It was apparently not yet known by Eliab in 17:28. In the original Hebrew, 16:13 can read that David was anointed away from the midst of his brothers, and he would have been given a charge not to let them know. This would agree with Samuel’s fear of Saul.

v 14-18. The Spirit of the Lord can be omnipresent, but left Saul and came upon David. Saul’s servants could tell by his actions and moods that an evil spirit was permitted by the Lord to come upon him. Saul heeded the servants’ advice and asked that a skillful musician be brought to soothe him from apparent demonic influence. By the Lord’s providence, one of the servants was apparently acquainted with David and recommended him highly in many ways. Probably the young man knew of David’s feats with the lion and bear, 17:34, and saw  he had the potential to be a man of war.

v 19,20. Jesse responded to Saul’s request by sending David along with a gift.

v 21-23. That David was probably in upper teens can be seen that he was old and big enough to be Saul’s armor bearer, but young enough that his brothers chided him for leaving the sheep and coming to watch the battle, 17:28. Probably David came to learn when Saul was needing soothing music played.