1 Samuel 16:1-13

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 16

¹ The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you continue to mourn for Saul, for I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and go, I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem. I have seen a king for myself among his sons.” ² But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I am going to make a sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You will anoint for me whomever I point out to you.”

David Is Anointed as King. ⁴ Samuel did what the Lord had said. When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the city came out to him trembling with fear. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” ⁵ Samuel answered, “Yes. In peace I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he purified Jesse and his sons, and he invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they arrived, he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely his anointed one stands before the Lord.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or how tall he stands, for the Lord has rejected him. He does not see the way that men see, for men look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

⁸ Jesse then summoned Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. He said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ⁹ Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. He said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ¹⁰ Jesse made his seven sons pass in front of Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these either.”

¹¹ Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all of the children?” He said, “There is still the youngest; he is watching the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him and fetch him. We will not sit down until he has arrived.”

¹² And so he sent for and brought him. He was ruddy, with a fine and handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Rise up and anoint him, for he is the one.” ¹³ Samuel took the horn of oil, and he anointed him in the midst of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day onward, and Samuel then returned to Ramah.