27As Samuel turned to leave, Saul seized the corner of his robe, and it tore. 28And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has this day torn the kingship over Israel away from you and has given it to another who is worthier than you. 29Moreover, the Gloryb of Israel does not deceive or change His mind, for He is not human that He should change His mind.” 30But [Saul] pleaded, “I did wrong. Please, honor me in the presence of the elders of my people and in the presence of Israel, and come back with me until I have bowed low to the LORD your God.” 31So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul bowed low to the LORD.
32Samuel said, “Bring forward to me King Agag of Amalek.” Agag approached him f-with faltering steps;-f and Agag said, “Ah, bitter death is at hand!”b
33Samuel said:
“As your sword has bereaved women,
So shall your mother be bereaved among women.”
And Samuel b-cut Agag down-b before the LORD at Gilgal.
34Samuel then departed for Ramah, and Saul went up to his home at Gibeah of Saul.
16 34Samuel never saw Saul again to the day of his death. But Samuel grieved over Saul, because the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel. 1And the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and set out; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have decided on one of his sons to be king.” 2Samuel replied, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3Invite Jesse to the sacrificial feast, and then I will make known to you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I point out to you.” 4Samuel did what the LORD commanded. When he came to Bethlehem, the elders of the city went out in alarm to meet him and said, “Do you come on a peaceful errand?” 5”Yes,” he replied, “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Purify yourselves and join me in the sacrificial feast.” He also instructed Jesse and his sons to purify themselves and invited them to the sacrificial feast.
6When they arrived and he saw Eliab, he thought: “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands before Him.” 7But the LORD said to Samuel, “Pay no attention to his appearance or his stature, for I have rejected him. For not as man sees [does the LORD see];a man sees only what is visible, but the LORD sees into the heart.” 8Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel; but he said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 9Next Jesse presented Shammah; and again he said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 10Thus Jesse presented seven of his sons before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.”
11Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the boys you have?” He replied, “There is still the youngest; he is tending the flock.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send someone to bring him, for we will not b-sit down to eat-b until he gets here.” 12So they sent and brought him. He was b-ruddy-cheeked, bright-eyed,-b and handsome. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.” 13Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD gripped David from that day on. Samuel then set out for Ramah.
14Now the spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD began to terrify him. 15Saul’s courtiers said to him, “An evil spirit of God is terrifying you. 16Let our lord give the order [and] the courtiers in attendance on you will look for someone who is skilled at playing the lyre; whenever the evil spirit of God comes over you, he will play itb and you will feel better.” 17So Saul said to his courtiers, “Find me someone who can play well and bring him to me.” 18One of the attendants spoke up, “I have observed a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skilled in music; he is a stalwart fellow and a warrior, sensible in speech, and handsome in appearance, and the LORD is with him.” 19Whereupon Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the flock.” 20Jesse took b-an ass [laden with]-b bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them to Saul by his son David. 21So David came to Saul and entered his service; [Saul] took a strong liking to him and made him one of his arms-bearers. 22Saul sent word to Jesse, “Let David remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.” 23Whenever the [evil] spirit of God came upon Saul, David would take the lyre and play it;b Saul would find relief and feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
17 The Philistines assembled their forces for battle; they massed at Socoh of Judah, and encamped at Ephes-dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 2Saul and the men of Israel massed and encamped in the valley of Elah. They drew up their line of battle against the Philistines, 3with the Philistines stationed on one hill and Israel stationed on the opposite hill; the ravine was between them. 4A championa of the Philistine forces stepped forward; his name was Goliath of Gath, and he was six cubits and a span tall. 5He had a bronze helmet on his head, and wore a breastplate of scale armor, a bronze breastplate weighing five thousand shekels. 6He had bronze greaves on his legs, and a bronze javelin [slung] from his shoulders. 7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s bar, and the iron head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels; and the shield-bearer marched in front of him.
8He stopped and called out to the ranks of Israel and he said to them, “Why should you come out to engage in battle? I am the Philistine [champion], and you are Saul’s servants. Chooseb one of your men and let him come down against me. 9If he bests me in combat and kills me, we will become your slaves; but if I best him and kill him, you shall be our slaves and serve us.” 10And the Philistine ended, “I herewith defy the ranks of Israel. Get me a man and let’s fight it out!” 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and terror-stricken.
12David was the son of a certain Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah whose name was Jesse. He had eight sons, and in the days of Saul the man was already old, advanced in years.b 13The three oldest sons of Jesse had left and gone with Saul to the war. The names of his three sons who had gone to the war were Eliab the first-born, the next Abinadab, and the third Shammah; 14and David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul, 15and David would go back and forth from attending on Saul to shepherd his father’s flock at Bethlehem.
16The Philistine stepped forward morning and evening and took his stand for forty days.
17Jesse said to his son David, “Take an ephah of this parched corn and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers, and carry them quickly to your brothers in camp. 18Take these ten cheesesb to the captain of their thousand. Find out how your brothers are and bring some tokenb from them.” 19Saul and c-the brothers-c and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, in the war against the Philistines.
20Early next morning, David left someone in charge of the flock, took [the provisions], and set out, as his father Jesse had instructed him. He reached the barricadeb as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting the war cry. 21Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines opposite each other. 22David left his baggage with the man in charge of the baggage and ran toward the battle line and went to greet his brothers. 23While he was talking to them, the champion, whose name was Goliath, the Philistine of Gath, stepped forward from the Philistine ranks and spoke the same words as before; and David heard him.
24When the men of Israel saw the man, they fled in terror. 25And the men of Israel were saying [among themselves], “Do you see that man coming out? He comes out to defy Israel! The man who kills him will be rewarded by the king with great riches; he will also give him his daughter in marriage and grant exemptiond to his father’s house in Israel.” 26David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes the disgrace from Israel? Who is that uncircumcised Philistine that he dares defy the ranks of the living God?” 27The troops told him in the same words what would be done for the man who killed him.
28When Eliab, his oldest brother, heard him speaking to the men, Eliab became angry with David and said, “Why did you come down here, and with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your impudence and your impertinence:e you came down
