1Sa 16:1, 13, 1Sa 17-18, Act 2:29-31, 13:22-36 | 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.”

1 Samuel 16:13

13 Then Samuel took ^ethe horn of oil ^fand anointed him in the midst of his brothers. ^gAnd the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

1 Samuel 17

David and Goliath

1 Now the Philistines ^hgathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at ⁱSocoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and ^jAzekah, in ^kEphes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in ^lthe Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named ^mGoliath of ⁿGath, whose height was six ^{▼▼Hebrew; Septuagint, Dead Sea Scroll and Josephus four} cubits ^{▼▼A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a ^rjavelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. ^sAnd his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and ^tare you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants ^uand serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, ^v“I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

12 Now David was ^wthe son of an ^xEphrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, ^ynamed Jesse, ^zwho had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew advanced among men} 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And ^abthe names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 ^acDavid was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul ^adto feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

17 And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah ^{▼▼An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters} of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18 ^afAlso take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. ^agSee if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”

19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to ^ahthe encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 And David left the ^aithings in charge of the keeper of the ^ajbaggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, behold, ^akthe champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke ^althe same words as before. And David heard him.

24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to ^amdefy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches ^anand will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” 26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away ^aothe reproach from Israel? For who is this ^apuncircumcised Philistine, that he should ^aqdefy the armies of ^arthe living God?” 27 And the people answered him in the same way, ^as“So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”

28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke ^atin the same way, and the people answered him again as before.

31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, ^au“Let no man’s heart fail because of him. ^avYour servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, ^awfor he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, ^ax“The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, ^ayand the Lord be with you!”

38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, ^azwith his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ^baruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I ^bba dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh ^bcto the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with ^bda javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, ^bewhom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. ^bfAnd I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day ^bgto the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, ^bhthat all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that ^bithe Lord saves not with sword and spear. ^bjFor the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine ^bkand took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, ^blthey fled. 52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew Gai} and the gates of ^bnEkron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from ^boShaaraim as far as ^bpGath and Ekron. 53 And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 And David took ^bqthe head of the Philistine ^brand brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

55 As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, ^bsthe commander of the army, “Abner, ^btwhose son is this youth?” And Abner said, ^bu“As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” 57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul ^bvwith the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, ^bw“I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

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 ^bxloved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day ^byand would not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because ^bzhe 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 ^caand 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, ^cbthe 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 ^cdsang to one another as they celebrated,

^ce“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 ^cfthe kingdom?” 9 And Saul eyed David from that day on.

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

12 ^clSaul was afraid of David because ^cmthe Lord was with him ^cnbut had departed from Saul. 13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. ^coAnd he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David ^cphad success in all his undertakings, ^cqfor the Lord was with him. 15 And when Saul saw that ^crhe had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. 16 ^csBut 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 ^ctmy elder daughter Merab. ^cuI will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me ^cvand fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, ^cwbut let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” 18 And David said to Saul, ^cx“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 ^cyAdriel the ^czMeholathite for a wife.

20 Now ^daSaul’s daughter Michal ^dbloved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may ^dcbe a snare for him ^ddand that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time, ^{▼▼Hebrew by two} ^df“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, ^dg“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 ^dhbride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, ^dithat he may be avenged of the king’s enemies.’” ^djNow 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. ^dkBefore the time had expired, 27 David arose and went, ^dlalong with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. ^dmAnd 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 ^dnthe Lord was with David, ^doand that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, 29 Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.

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

Acts 2:29-31

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about ^drthe patriarch David ^dsthat he both died and ^dtwas buried, and ^duhis tomb is with us to this day. 30 ^dvBeing therefore a prophet, and knowing that ^dwGod had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that ^dxhe was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

Acts 13:22-36

22 And ^dywhen he had removed him, ^dzhe raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ^ea‘I have found in David the son of Jesse ^eba man after my heart, ^ecwho will do all my will.’ 23 ^edOf this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel ^eea Savior, Jesus, ^efas he promised. 24 Before his coming, ^egJohn had proclaimed ^eha baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, ^eihe said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you ^ejwho fear God, to us has been sent ^ekthe message of ^elthis salvation. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because ^emthey did not recognize him nor understand ^enthe utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, ^eofulfilled them by condemning him. 28 And ^epthough they found in him no guilt worthy of death, ^eqthey asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 And when ^erthey had carried out all that was written of him, ^esthey took him down from ^etthe tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But ^euGod raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days ^evhe appeared to those ^ewwho had come up with him ^exfrom Galilee to Jerusalem, ^eywho are now ^ezhis witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news ^fathat what God promised to the fathers, 33 ^fbthis he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

^fc“‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you.’
34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, ^fd, ^feno more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

“‘I will give you ^ffthe holy and sure blessings of David.’
35 Therefore he says also in another psalm,

^fg“‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’
36 For David, after he had ^fhserved the purpose of God in his own generation, ^fifell asleep and ^fjwas laid with his fathers and saw corruption,