1 And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.
3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.
4 And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?
5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.
7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height 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.
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.
9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.
10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these.
11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
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 rose up, and went to Ramah.
14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning 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.
19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.
22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.
23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
<html><b>The Beis Lechemite.</b> From Beis Lechem. The rule of every noun composed of two words, e.g., Beis Lechem, Beis Shemesh, Beis Eil, Kiryas Arba, if one wishes to add a '<span>ה</span>' he adds it between the two words, e.g., Kiryas Ha'arba,1<i class=“footnote”> Bereishis 35:27.</i> Beis Ha'Eili,2<i class=“footnote”> I Melachim 16:34.</i> Beis Ha'lachmi.</html>
<html><b>Hurried.</b> Hurried out toward him.3<i class=“footnote”> The elders of the city who saw Shmuel approaching hurried out toward him thinking that they had committed a grave sin and that was why he was coming to their city. Therefore, Shmuel was asked whether he was coming in peace.—Radak</i></html>
<html><b>He said, “Surely, before Adonoy is His annointed.”</b> He said to himself, 'Surely, it is true that this one is fitting for the kingship.'</html>
<html><b>Do not look at his appearance.</b> Upon the beauty of his stature. <b>For I have rejected him.</b> Because he is a quick tempered person, as it is stated, 'And Eliov became angry with Dovid.'4<i class=“footnote”> Below 17:28. Also, see Maseches Pesachim 66b, that Eliov actually possessed the qualities of a king but ‘<span>ה</span> rejected him because he had a bad temper.</i> <b>For it is not as man perceives it.</b> Even though you called yourself a seer, when you said to Shaul, 'I am the seer,'5<i class=“footnote”>Above 9:19. <span>ה׳</span> punished Shmuel for inferring albeit an infinitesimal of pride by saying “I am the seer.” Moshe was similarly punished for saying “the matter that will be too difficult for you, present to me and I will hear it.” [Devarim 1:17]—Sifre, Devarim 1:17</i> here I am informing you that you do not see.</html>
<html><b>Yishay brought Shammoh.</b> That is <span>שַׁמְעָא</span>.6<i class=“footnote”>I.e. <span>שַׁמְעָא = שַׁמׇּה</span> See II Shmuel 21:21 and I Divrei Hayomim 2:13.</i></html>
<html><b>The youngest one is still left.</b> The youngest one is left. <b>We will not sit.</b> We will not sit to eat; every instance of sitting for a meal is called <span>הֲסִבׇּה</span> [leaning].</html>
<html><b>And a spirit of Adonoy passed over.</b> A spirit of strength.7<i class=“footnote”>Targum renders ‘a spirit of prophecy.’</i></html>
<html><b>Your servants who are before you.</b> Behold, your servants are before you, who will carry out your orders.</html>
<html><b>One of the youths.</b> The special one, [i.e.,] Do'eg, the Edomite.8<i class=“footnote”>See Maseches Sanhedrin 93b.</i> <b>Knows how to play.</b> His entire intention was to induce Shaul's evil eye into Dovid, that he envy him.9<i class=“footnote”>See Ibid., which states that it was Do’eg’s intention to arouse Shaul’s envy and therefore he gave Dovid excessive praise which was irrelevant to the position for which Shaul needed him. Do’eg neither described Dovid’s musical talents nor the instrument that he played.</i></html>