1 Samuel 16:14-15

David Appears before Saul

16:14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit ¹  from the Lord tormented him. 16:15 Then Saul’s servants said to him, “Look, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you!”

1 Samuel 19:9

19:9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon ²  Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre. ³ 

1 Samuel 26:19

26:19 So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he take delight in ⁴  an offering. But if men have instigated this, ⁵  may they be cursed before the Lord! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the Lord’s inheritance, saying, ‘Go on, serve other gods!’

¹ tn Or “an injurious spirit”; cf. NLT “a tormenting spirit.” The phrase need not refer to an evil, demonic spirit. The Hebrew word translated “evil” may refer to the character of the spirit or to its effect upon Saul. If the latter, another translation option might be “a mischief-making spirit.”

² tn Heb “[was] to.”

³ tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”

⁴ tn Heb “may he smell.” The implication is that Saul should seek to appease God, for such divine instigation to evil would a sign of God’s disfavor. For a fuller discussion of this passage see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 19-21.

⁵ tn Heb “but if the sons of men.”