And the Lord said to Samuel, How long do you mourn for Saul, whereas I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and come, I will send you to Jessae, to Bethleem; for I have seen among his sons a king for me. And Samuel said, How can I go? whereas Saul will hear of it, and kill me: and the Lord said, Take a heifer in your hand and you shall say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. And you shall call Jessae to the sacrifice, and I will make known to you what you shall do; and you shall anoint him whom I shall mention to you. And Samuel did all that the Lord told him; and he came to Bethleem: and the elders of the city were amazed at meeting him, and said, Do you come peaceably, you Seer? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and rejoice with me this day: and he sanctified Jessae and his sons, and he called them to the sacrifice. And it came to pass when they came in, that he saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance, nor on his stature, for I have rejected him; for God sees not as man looks; for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. And Jessae called Aminadab, and he passed before Samuel: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one. And Jessae caused Sama to pass by: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one. And Jessae caused his seven sons to pass before Samuel: and Samuel said, the Lord has not chosen these. And Samuel said to Jessae, Have you no more sons? And Jessae said, There is yet a little one; behold, he tends the flock. And Samuel said to Jessae, Send and fetch him for we may not sit down till he comes. And he sent and fetched him: and he was ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and very goodly to behold. And the Lord said to Samuel, Arise, and anoint David, for he is good. And 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: and Samuel arose, and departed to Armathaim. And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from the Lord torments you. Let now your servants speak before you, and let them seek for our lord a man skilled to play on the harp; and it shall come to pass when an evil spirit comes upon you and he shall play on his harp, that you shall be well, and he shall refresh you. And Saul said to his servants, Look now out for me a skillful player, and bring him to me. And one of his servants answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jessae the Bethleemite, and he understands playing on the harp, and the man is prudent, and a warrior, and wise in speech, and the man is handsome, and the Lord is with him. And Saul sent messengers to Jessae, saying, Send to me your son David who is with your flock. And Jessae took a homer of bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sent them by the hand of his son David to Saul. And David went in to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to Jessae, saying, Let David, I pray you, stand before me, for he has found grace in my eyes. And it came to pass when the evil spirit was upon Saul, that David took his harp, and played with his hand: and Saul was refreshed, and it was well with him, and the evil spirit departed from him.
FIND YOUR PASSAGE
Search the Scriptures

A LIBRARY TO EXPLORE
A moment.
A passage.
A new perspective.
Read the Bible, discover the Apocrypha, and explore early Christian writings.
About this collection
This library includes complete Bibles, portions, historical variants, Apocrypha, and separately labeled early writings. Different traditions recognize different canons. Manuscript gaps and editorial reconstructions retain their source labels.
Source records assess public-domain status in the United States. Rights can differ by territory, including King James Version conditions in the United Kingdom. Read the source and rights record for each edition.
YOUR READING LIFE
Saved passages
Saved on this browser. Export a copy to keep your notes when changing devices or clearing browser data.
MAKE ROOM TO READ
Your reading space
Appearance
Reading
Listen
Offline reading
Keep an edition on this device for reading and searching while disconnected. Installed voices can read it aloud. Browser background playback varies by device.
Your privacy
Reading preferences, progress, bookmarks, highlights and notes stay in this browser using functional storage. Online reading and search send the requested edition, passage or query to the server. Prepared narration requests identify the edition, book and chapter. Ordinary hosting access and security logs can include IP addresses, requested URLs, times and basic client information. The website is free, account-free and analytics-free.