1 Samuel 16 - 20

David Anointed King

Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “How long will you be grieving over Saul? 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 see among his sons a king for Me.” 2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear of it and will kill me.” Then Yahweh said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.’ 3 And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make you know what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I say to you.” 4 So Samuel did what Yahweh said and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “Do you come in peace?” 5 And he said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Set yourselves apart as holy and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also set apart Jesse and his sons as holy and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 Now it happened, when they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the anointed of Yahweh is before Him.” 7 But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one either.” 9 Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one either.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the young men?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is shepherding the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not turn around until he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And Yahweh said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

David Becomes Saul’s Armor Bearer

14 Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh terrorized him. 15 Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. 16 Let our lord now speak to your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 Then one of the young men answered and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one who is understanding in speech, and a man of fine form; and Yahweh is with him.” 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David who is with the flock.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a wineskin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David his son. 21 Then David came to Saul and stood before him; and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. 22 So Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 Thus it happened that whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Goliath Challenges Israel

Now the Philistines gathered their camps for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 But Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah and arranged themselves for battle to meet the Philistines. 3 Now the Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion came out from the camps of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor, and the weight of that scale-armor was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. 7 And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him. 8 And he stood and called out to the battle lines of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to arrange yourselves for battle? Am I not the Philistine and you slaves of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, then we will become your slaves; but if I prevail against him and strike him down, then you shall become our slaves and serve us.” 10 Again the Philistine said, “I openly reproach the battle lines 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 the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. And Jesse was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13 And the three older sons of Jesse had gone. They had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 But David was the youngest. Now the three oldest had gone after Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to shepherd his father’s flock at Bethlehem. 16 Then the Philistine approached, morning and evening, for forty days and took his stand. 17 Then Jesse said to David his son, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers. 18 You shall also bring these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and look into the welfare of your brothers, and bring back a token from them. 19 And Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.” 20 So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and carried the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the military force was going out in battle lines shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines arranged themselves in battle lines, battle line against battle line. 22 Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. 23 As he was speaking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard them. 24 Now all the men of Israel saw the man, and they fled from him and were greatly afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to reproach Israel. And it will be that the king will enrich the man who strikes him down with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” 26 Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should reproach the battle lines of the living God?” 27 And the people spoke to him in accord with this word, saying, “Thus it will be done for the man who strikes him down.” 28 Then Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I myself know your arrogance and the wickedness of your heart, for you have come down in order to see the battle.” 29 But David said, “What have I done now? Was it not just a word?” 30 Then he turned away from him to another and said the same word; and the people responded to him with the same word as before.

David Puts Goliath to Death

31 Then the words which David spoke were heard. And they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was shepherding his father’s sheep. And a lion and a bear would come and take a lamb from the flock, 35 and I would go out after it and strike it and rescue the lamb from its mouth. Then it rose up against me, and I would seize it by its beard and strike it down and put it to death. 36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has reproached the battle lines of the living God.” 37 And David said, “Yahweh, who delivered me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may Yahweh be with you.” 38 Then Saul clothed David with his robes and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. 39 And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off. 40 Then he took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine. 41 Then the Philistine came on and drew near to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And the Philistine looked and saw David. And he despised him; for he was but a youth and ruddy, with a handsome appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine also said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have reproached. 46 This day Yahweh will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and He will give you into our hands.” 48 Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David sent his hand down into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. 50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and put him to death; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and put him to death and cut off his head with it. Then the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, so they fled. 52 But the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the slain Philistines lay fallen along the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the sons of Israel returned from hotly pursuing the Philistines and plundered their camps. 54 And David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent. 55 Now when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner said, “By your life, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “You inquire whose son the youth is.” 57 So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

Jonathan Cuts a Covenant with David

Now it happened when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan cut a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him and prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of Saul’s servants.

Saul Looks at David with Suspicion

6 And it happened as they were coming, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with gladness, and with musical instruments. 7 And the women sang as they were merry and said,

“Saul has struck his thousands,

And David his ten thousands.”

8 Then Saul became very angry, for this saying was displeasing in his eyes; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 So Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on. 10 Now it happened on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house. Now David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul’s hand. 11 Then Saul hurled the spear for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David escaped from his presence twice. 12 And Saul was afraid of David, for Yahweh was with him but had turned away from Saul. 13 Therefore Saul turned him away from his presence and appointed him as his commander of one thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David was prospering in all his ways, and Yahweh was with him. 15 Then Saul saw that he was prospering greatly, so he dreaded him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. 17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be a man of valor for me and fight Yahweh’s battles.” For Saul thought, “My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” 18 But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” 19 So it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

Saul’s Daughter Given to David

20 And Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. So they told Saul, and the thing was right in his eyes. 21 And Saul said, “I will give her to him that she may become a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “For a second time you may be my son-in-law today.” 22 Then Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David secretly, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; so now, become the king’s son-in-law.’” 23 So Saul’s servants spoke these words in David’s hearing. But David said, “Is it trivial in your eyes to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?” 24 And the servants of Saul told to him according to these words which David spoke. 25 Saul then said, “Thus you shall say to David, ‘The king does not desire any dowry except one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’” Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 Then his servants told David these words, and it was right in the eyes of David to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the days had expired, 27 David rose up and went, he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife. 28 Then Saul saw and knew that Yahweh was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, 29 so Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually. 30 Then the commanders of the Philistines went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David behaved himself more insightfully than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed.

David Escapes from Saul

Then Saul spoke with Jonathan his son and all his servants to put David to death. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. 2 So Jonathan told David saying, “Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. So now, please be careful in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you; what I perceive, I will tell you.” 4 Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his works have been very good for you. 5 For he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and Yahweh brought about a great salvation for all Israel; you saw it and were glad. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?” 6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As Yahweh lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as formerly. 8 Then there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great slaughter, so that they fled before him. 9 Now there was an evil spirit from Yahweh on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand. 10 And Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night. 11 Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not make an escape for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.” 12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with clothes. 14 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but she said, “He is sick.” 15 So Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed, that I may put him to death.” 16 The messengers came, and behold, the household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. 17 So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death?’” 18 Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. 19 And it was told to Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them. And the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied. 21 This was told to Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 So he went there, to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

David and Jonathan’s Covenant

Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?” 2 And he said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without revealing it in my ear. So why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!” 3 Yet David swore again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, there is hardly a step between me and death.” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever your soul says, I will do for you.” 5 So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. 6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city because it is the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ 7 If he says, ‘It is good,’ your servant will have peace; but if he is very angry, know that he has decided on evil. 8 Therefore show lovingkindness to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?” 9 And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I should indeed come to know that evil has been decided by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you about it?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” 11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out to the field. 12 Then Jonathan said to David, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have examined my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there is good feeling toward David, shall I not then send to you and reveal it in your ear? 13 If it please my father to do you harm, may Yahweh do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not reveal it in your ear and send you away, that you may go in peace. And may Yahweh be with you as He has been with my father. 14 And if I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of Yahweh, that I may not die? 15 You shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when Yahweh cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 So Jonathan cut a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May Yahweh require it at the hands of David’s enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own soul. 18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be missing. 19 When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel. 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I sent them towards a target. 21 And behold, I will send the young man, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the young man, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, for there is peace for you and no harm, as Yahweh lives. 22 But if I say to the youth, ‘Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for Yahweh has sent you away. 23 As for the agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, Yahweh is between you and me forever.” 24 So David hid in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25 And the king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat down by Saul’s side, but David’s place was missing. 26 Nevertheless Saul did not speak anything that day, for he said, “It is an accident; he is not clean; surely he is not clean.” 27 Now it happened the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was missing; so Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” 28 Jonathan then answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem, 29 and he said, ‘Please send me on my way, since our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to attend. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me get away that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

Saul Is Angry with Jonathan

30 Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. So now, send and bring him to me, for he must surely die.” 32 But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 Then Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down; so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. 34 Then Jonathan arose from the table in burning anger and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him. 35 Now it happened in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a very young man was with him. 36 And he said to his young man, “Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the young man was running, he shot an arrow past him. 37 When the young man reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38 And Jonathan called after the young man, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s young man gathered up the arrow and came to his master. 39 But the young man did not know of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. 40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his young man and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” 41 When the young man was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but David wept more. 42 And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of Yahweh, saying, ‘Yahweh will be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed forever.’” Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city.