Study Desk

As Samuel turned around to go, he caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.

Then Samuel went to Ramah and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.

Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel mourned over Saul, and Yahweh regretted that he made Saul king over Israel.

Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn about Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel! Fill up your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself among his sons."

He said, "I come in peace. I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." So he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he saw Eliab and said, "Surely his anointed one is before Yahweh!"

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 does not see what man sees, for a man looks on the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks on the heart."

And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, "Yahweh has not chosen any of these."

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. Then the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day on. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

So Saul said to his servants, "Please select a man who plays a stringed instrument well and bring him to me."

And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a skin of wine and one young goat and sent them to Saul by the hand of David his son.

So David came to Saul and entered his service. He loved him greatly and he became Saul's armor bearer.

So whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the stringed instrument and play it with his hand. Then it would bring relief for Saul; he would feel better and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Then a champion went out from the camps of the Philistines, whose name was Goliath from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span.

A bronze helmet was on his head, and he was clothed with scale body armor; the weight of the body armor was five thousand bronze shekels.

Bronze greaves were on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders.

The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam and the point of his spear weighed six hundred iron shekels. His shield bearer was walking in front of him.

Now David was the son of an Ephrathite. This man was from Bethlehem of Judah, and his name was Jesse. He had eight sons; in the days of Saul this man was old, yet he still walked among the men.

The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone and followed Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, his second oldest was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.

but David went back and forth from Saul to feed the sheep of his father in Bethlehem.