1 Samuel 16:1-5

Samuel Anoints David as King

16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. ¹  Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, ²  for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons.” ³ 

16:2 Samuel replied, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you ⁴  and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 16:3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you should do. You will anoint for me the one I point out ⁵  to you.”

16:4 Samuel did what the Lord told him. ⁶  When he arrived in Bethlehem, ⁷  the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They ⁸  said, “Do you come in peace?” 16:5 He replied, “Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” So he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

[16:1]  ¹ tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And the Lord said to Samuel.”

[16:1]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[16:1]  ³ tn Heb “for I have seen among his sons for me a king.”

[16:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “in your hand.”

[16:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “say”; KJV, NRSV “name”; NIV “indicate.”

[16:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “said.”

[16:4]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[16:4]  ⁸ tc In the MT the verb is singular (“he said”), but the translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss and ancient versions in reading the plural (“they said”).