ears, and the roaring of the oxen that I hear?

And Saul said, They have brought them of the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, because of the sacrifice of the LORD thy God: the rest we have utterly destroyed.

And Samuel said unto Saul, Let me tell thee what the LORD hath said unto me this night.
And he said, Tell me.

And Samuel said: Is it not so, when thou wast small in thine own sight, that thou becameest chief among the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

And the LORD sent thee on thy way, saying, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them, until thou destroy them.

Why hast thou not obeyed the voice of the LORD, but hast turned thyself to robbery, and hast done evil in the sight of the LORD?

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have hearkened unto the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag king of Amalek, and have destroyed the Amalekites.

But the people have taken of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the exiled, to offer unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

And Samuel said, Thinkest thou that the LORD delighteth in sacrifice and burnt offering, rather than in obedience to the voice of the LORD? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and heedfulness than the fat of rams;

For disobedience is a sin of sorcery; and to resist is idolatry and idolatry. Because therefore thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath rejected thee also, that thou shouldest not be king.

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned, because I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: for I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

And now forgive me my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.

And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee, that thou shouldest not reign over Israel.

And when Samuel turned to go away, he caught him by the corner of his skirt, and it rent.

And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to thy neighbour, which is better than thou.

Neither doth the hero of Israel lie, nor repent: for he is not a man, that any thing should repent him.

And he said: I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people, and before Israel; and return with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.

So Samuel returned, and followed Saul, and Saul worshipped the LORD.

And Samuel said, Bring me Agag the king of Amalek. And Agag went to him confidently, and said, Thus must the bitterness of death be driven away.

And Samuel said, As thy sword hath robbed women of their children, so shall thy mother be robbed of her children among women. So Samuel smote Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

And Samuel went to Ramath: and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah-saul.

And Samuel saw Saul no more until the day of his death. But Samuel mourned for Saul, because the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
(1 Samuel)
Chapter 16
David’s profession and first anointing as king.

And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long mournest thou for Saul, whom I have rejected, that he should not reign over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil, and go, and I will send thee unto Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have chosen a king among his sons.

And Samuel said, How shall I go? Saul shall know it, and slay me. And the LORD said, Take thee a calf of the oxen, and say, I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD.

And thou shalt call Jesse to the sacrifice; and I will instruct thee what thou shalt do, that thou mayest anoint me, which I will tell thee.

And Samuel did as the LORD had said unto him, and came to Bethlehem: and the elders of the city were astonished. And the elders of the city were astonished, and went out to meet him, and said: Is it peace that thou art come?

And he said, Yea, 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 invited them to the sacrifice.

And when they were come in, he looked on Eliab, and thought whether he were his anointed before the LORD.

And the LORD said unto Samuel, Behold not his form, nor his great person; I have rejected him. For it is not how a man looketh. A man looketh on the things that are before his eyes: but the LORD looketh on the heart.

And Jesse called unto Abinadab, and made him pass over before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this man.

And Jesse passed by Samma. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this man.

And Jesse sent his seven sons before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen him.

And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are all the lads? And he said, There is yet the least left; and, behold, he is tending the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

And he sent and fetched him. And he was of a brownish complexion, with beautiful eyes, and of a goodly stature. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for he is he.

And Samuel took his 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. And Samuel arose, and went to Ramah.

And the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him greatly.

And the servants of Saul said unto him, Behold, an evil spirit from GOD maketh thee very uneasy.

Our lord shall tell his servants that stand before him, that they seek a man that can play well upon the harp; that, when the evil spirit of God cometh upon thee, he may play with his hand, that it may be better with thee.

And Saul said unto his servants: Look for a man who is good at playing the stringed instruments, and bring him to me.

And one of the lads answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is well skilled in the playing of the strings; a stout man, and valiant, and understanding in things, and fair; and the LORD is with him.

And Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, saying, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.

And Jesse took an ass of bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid of the goats, and sent them unto Saul by David his son.

So David came to Saul, and ministered before him: and he loved him very much, and he became his armourbearer.

And Saul sent unto Jesse, saying, Let David tarry before me: for he hath found grace in mine eyes.

And it came to pass, when the Spirit of God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand; and Saul was refreshed, and was better with him, and the evil spirit departed from him.
(1 Samuel)
Chapter 17
David’s quarrel with the giant Goliath.

And the Philistines gathered their armies to battle, and came together to Shocho in Judah, and pitched between Shocho and Azekah, at the end of Damim.

And Saul and the men of Israel came together, and pitched in the valley of the oak, and prepared themselves to battle against the Philistines.

And the Philistines sat upon a mountain on the other side, and the children of Israel upon a mountain on this side; and there was a valley between them.

And there came forth out of the camps of the Philistines a giant named Goliath of Gath, six cubits high and an hand’s breadth;

And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and a coat of mail upon him; and the weight of his coat was five thousand shekels of brass;

and had brazen harness on his thighs and a brazen shield on his shoulders.

And the shaft of his spear was as a weaver’s beam, and the iron of his spear had six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield bearer went before him.

And he stood and called unto the witness of Israel, and said unto them: Why are ye come out to set yourselves at war? Am not I a Philistine, and ye servants of Saul? Call one of you to come down unto me.

If he be able to fight against me, and smite me, we will be your servants: but if I be able to fight against him, and smite him, ye shall be our servants, to serve us.

And the Philistine said: I have mocked the witness of Israel this day: give me one, and let us fight together.

And when Saul and all Israel heard this saying of the Philistine, they were amazed and sore afraid.

And David was the son of an Ephrathite man, of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons, and was an old man in the days of Saul, and was old among men.

And the three greatest sons of Jesse were at war with Saul, and were called by name: Eliab the firstborn, Abinadab the second, and Samma the third.

And David was the youngest. And the three eldest went out to war with