¹ Yahweh said to Samuel, 'How much longer do you mean to go on mourning over Saul, now that I myself have rejected him as ruler of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have found myself a king from among his sons.'

² Samuel replied, 'How can I go? When Saul hears of it he will kill me.' Yahweh then said, 'Take a heifer with you and say, "I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh."

³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I shall reveal to you what you must do; and you will anoint for me the one I indicate to you.'

⁴ Samuel did what Yahweh ordered and went to Bethlehem. The elders of the town came trembling to meet him and asked, 'Seer, is your coming favourable for us,'

⁵ 'Yes,' he replied. 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.' He purified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they arrived, he looked at Eliab and thought, 'This must be Yahweh's anointed now before him,'

⁷ but Yahweh said to Samuel, 'Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him; God does not see as human beings see; they look at appearances but Yahweh looks at the heart.'

⁸ Jesse then called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, 'Yahweh has not chosen this one either.'

⁹ Jesse then presented Shammah, but Samuel said, 'Yahweh has not chosen this one either.'

¹⁰ Jesse thus presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, 'Yahweh has not chosen these.'

¹¹ He then asked Jesse, 'Are these all the sons you have?' Jesse replied, 'There is still one left, the youngest; he is looking after the sheep.' Samuel then said to Jesse, 'Send for him, for we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives.'

¹² Jesse had him sent for; he had ruddy cheeks, with fine eyes and an attractive appearance. Yahweh said, 'Get up and anoint him: he is the one!'

¹³ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him, surrounded by his brothers; and the spirit of Yahweh seized on David from that day onwards. Samuel, for his part, set off and went to Ramah.

¹⁴ Now the spirit of Yahweh had withdrawn from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh afflicted him with terrors.

¹⁵ Saul's servants said to him, 'An evil spirit from God is undoubtedly the cause of your terrors.

¹⁶ Let our lord give the order, and your servants who wait on you will look for a skilled harpist; when the evil spirit from God comes over you, he will play and it will do you good.'

¹⁷ Saul said to his attendants, 'Find me, please, a man who plays well, and bring him to me.'

¹⁸ One of the servants then spoke up and said, 'I have seen one of the sons of Jesse the Bethlehemite: he is a skilled player, a brave man and a fighter, well spoken, good-looking and Yahweh is with him.'

¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse with the order, 'Send me your son David (who is with the sheep).'

²⁰ Jesse took five loaves, a skin of wine and a kid, and sent them to Saul by his son David.

²¹ David went to Saul and entered his service; Saul became very fond of him and David became his armour-bearer.

²² Saul then sent a message to Jesse, 'Let David stay in my service, since he has won my favour.'

²³ And whenever the spirit from God came over Saul, David would take a harp and play; Saul would then be soothed; it would do him good, and the evil spirit would leave him.