First Samuel 16 


16:1 And the LORD said to 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 the
 Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
16:2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul shall hear [it], he
 will kill me. And the LORD said, Take a heifer with thee, and
 say, I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.
16:3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what
 thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint to me [him] whom I name to
 thee.
16:4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spoke, and came to
 Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming,
 and said, Comest thou peaceably?
16:5 And he said, Peaceably: I have come to sacrifice to the
 LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.
 And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the
 sacrifice.
16:6 And it came to pass when they had come, that he looked on
 Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed [is] before him.
16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance,
 or on the hight 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.
16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before
 Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.
16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither
 hath the LORD chosen this.
16:10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.
 And Samuel said to Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.
16:11 And Samuel said to Jesse, Are here all [thy] children? And
 he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he
 keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring
 him: for we will not sit down till he hath come hither.
16:12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he [was] ruddy, [and]
 also of a beautiful countenance, and a good appearance. And the
 LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this [is] he.
16:13 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 arose, and went to
 Ramah.
16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil
 spirit from the LORD troubled him.
16:15 And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, an evil
 spirit from God troubleth thee.
16:16 Let our lord now command thy servants, [who are] before
 thee, to seek a man [who is] a skillful player on a harp: and
 it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon
 thee, that he will play with his hand, and thou wilt be well.
16:17 And Saul said to his servants, Provide me now a man that
 can play well, and bring [him] to me.
16:18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I
 have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, [that is] skillful
 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.
16:19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, Send to
 me David thy son, who [is] with the sheep.
16:20 And Jesse took an ass [laden] with bread, and a bottle of
 wine, and a kid, and sent [them] by David his son to Saul.
16:21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved
 him greatly; and he became his armor-bearer.
16:22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee,
 stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight.
16:23 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 well, and the evil spirit departed
 from him.