1 Samuel 16
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The Lord said to Samuel, r "How long will you grieve over Saul, since s I have rejected him from being king over Israel? t Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, u for I have provided for myself a king among his sons."
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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, v 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.'
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And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. w And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you."
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Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city x came to meet him trembling and said, y "Do you come peaceably?"
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And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. z Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
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When they came, he looked on a Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before him."
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But the Lord said to Samuel, b "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, c but the Lord looks on the heart."
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Then Jesse called d Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."
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Then Jesse made d Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."
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And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these."
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Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, e "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, f "Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here."
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And he sent and brought him in. Now he was g ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, h "Arise, anoint him, for this is he."
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Then Samuel took i the horn of oil j and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. k And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
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l Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, m and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.
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And Saul's servants said to him, "Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you.
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Let our lord now command your servants n who 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 o play it, and you will be well."
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So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me."
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One of the young men answered, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, p a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, q and the Lord is with him."
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Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me David your son, r who is with the sheep."
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s And 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.
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And David came to Saul t and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.
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And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight."
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And u whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre o and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 15:35
And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 15:23
For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.
1 Samuel 15:26
And Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 10:1
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, "Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
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Cross References
Psalms 78:70
He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds.
Psalms 89:19 - 20
Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: "I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.
Acts 13:22
And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 9:12
They answered, "He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place.
1 Samuel 20:29
He said, 'Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.' For this reason he has not come to the king's table.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 9:16
"Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me."
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Cross References
1 Samuel 21:1
Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David trembling and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?
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Cross References
1 Kings 2:13
Then Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, "Do you come peacefully?" He said, "Peacefully.
2 Kings 9:22
And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?
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Cross References
Joshua 3:5
Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 17:13
The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
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Cross References
Psalms 147:10 - 11
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man.
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Cross References
1 Kings 8:39
Then hear in heaven your dwelling place and for...
1 Chronicles 28:9
And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your f...
Psalms 7:9
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, ...
Jeremiah 11:20
But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously, w...
Jeremiah 17:10
"I the Lord search the heart and test the mind,...
Jeremiah 20:12
O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who s...
Acts 1:24
And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know ...
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Cross References
1 Samuel 17:13
The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 16:8
Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 17:13
The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
2 Samuel 13:3
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man.
1 Chronicles 2:13
Jesse fathered Eliab his firstborn, Abinadab the second, Shimea the third.
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Cross References
2 Samuel 7:8
Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.
Psalms 78:70 - 71
He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 17:42
And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 9:17
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, "Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 16:1
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.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 10:1
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, "Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
Psalms 89:20
I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 10:6
Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
1 Samuel 10:10
When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.
1 Samuel 11:6
And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.
Judges 3:10
The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 18:12
Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.
1 Samuel 28:15 - 16
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.
Judges 16:20
And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 18:10
The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand.
1 Samuel 19:9
Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre.
Judges 9:23
And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 16:21 - 22
And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.
1 Kings 10:8
Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!
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Cross References
1 Samuel 18:10
The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand.
1 Samuel 19:9
Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre.
2 Kings 3:15
But now bring me a musician." And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 17:32
And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
1 Samuel 17:34 - 36
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.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 3:19
And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
1 Samuel 18:12
Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.
1 Samuel 18:14
And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 16:11
Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.
1 Samuel 17:15
But David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
1 Samuel 17:34
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.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 17:18
Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 16:16
Let our lord now command your servants who 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 play it, and you will be well.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 16:14
Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.
1 Samuel 16:16
Let our lord now command your servants who 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 play it, and you will be well.
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Cross References
1 Samuel 16:16
Let our lord now command your servants who 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 play it, and you will be well.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.