Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “^aHow long will you be grieving over Saul? ^bI have rejected him from being king over Israel. ^cFill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to ^dJesse the Bethlehemite, for I ^esee 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, “^aTake a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.’ 3 And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and ^aI will make you know what you shall do; and ^byou shall anoint for Me the one whom I say to you.” 4 So Samuel did what Yahweh said and came to ^aBethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “^bDo you come in peace?” 5 And he said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. ^aSet 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 ^aEliab 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 ¹God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, ^abut Yahweh looks at the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called ^aAbinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one either.” 9 Next Jesse made ^1aShammah 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, “^aThere remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is shepherding the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and ¹bring him, for we will not turn around until he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with ^abeautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And Yahweh said, “^bArise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and ^aanointed him in the midst of his brothers; and ^bthe Spirit of Yahweh ¹came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

14 ^aNow the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and ^ban 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, ^ahe 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, ^aa mighty man of valor, a warrior, one who is understanding in speech, and a man of fine form; and ^bYahweh 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 ^atook 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 ^astood before him; and ¹Saul 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 ^athe 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.