1Sa 16, 1Sa 18 | ESV | STEP | The Lord said to Samuel , How long will you grieve over Saul , since I have rejected him from being king over Israel ? Fill your horn with oil , and go . I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite , for I have provided for myself a king among his sons .

1 The Lord said to Samuel, ^a“How long will you grieve over Saul, since ^bI have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^cFill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, ^dfor I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ^e‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. ^fAnd you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city ^gcame to meet him trembling and said, ^h“Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ⁱConsecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they came, he looked on ^jEliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, ^k“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, ^lbut the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called ^mAbinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made ⁿShammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, ^o“There remains yet the youngest, ^{▼▼Or smallest} but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, ^q“Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ^rruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ^s“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took ^tthe horn of oil ^uand anointed him in the midst of his brothers. ^vAnd the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

David in Saul’s Service

14 ^wNow the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, ^xand a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants ^ywho are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will ^zplay it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, ^aaa man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, ^aband the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, ^acwho is with the sheep.” 20 ^adAnd Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul ^aeand entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And ^afwhenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre ^agand played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

1 Samuel 18

David and Jonathan’s Friendship

1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan ^ahloved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day ^aiand would not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because ^ajhe loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5 And David went out ^akand was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

Saul’s Jealousy of David

6 As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, ^althe women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. ^{▼▼Or triangles, or three-stringed instruments} 7 And the women ^ansang to one another as they celebrated,

^ao“Saul has struck down his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.”
8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but ^apthe kingdom?” 9 And Saul eyed David from that day on.

10 The next day ^aqa harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and ^arhe raved within his house while David was ^asplaying the lyre, as he did day by day. ^atSaul had his spear in his hand. 11 And Saul ^auhurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.

12 ^avSaul was afraid of David because ^awthe Lord was with him ^axbut had departed from Saul. 13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. ^ayAnd he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David ^azhad success in all his undertakings, ^bafor the Lord was with him. 15 And when Saul saw that ^bbhe had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. 16 ^bcBut all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Michal

17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is ^bdmy elder daughter Merab. ^beI will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me ^bfand fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, ^bgbut let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” 18 And David said to Saul, ^bh“Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father’s clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” 19 But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to ^biAdriel the ^bjMeholathite for a wife.

20 Now ^bkSaul’s daughter Michal ^blloved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may ^bmbe a snare for him ^bnand that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, ^{▼▼Hebrew by two} ^bp“You shall now be my son-in-law.” 22 And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king’s son-in-law.’” 23 And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, ^bq“Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?” 24 And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.” 25 Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no ^brbride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, ^bsthat he may be avenged of the king’s enemies.’” ^btNow Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. ^buBefore the time had expired, 27 David arose and went, ^bvalong with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. ^bwAnd David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. 28 But when Saul saw and knew that ^bxthe Lord was with David, ^byand that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, 29 Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.

30 ^bzThen the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out ^caDavid had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.