1 Samuel 16:14-23

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!” 16:16 Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre ²  and you will feel better.” ³  16:17 So Saul said to his servants, “Find ⁴  me a man who plays well and bring him to me.” 16:18 One of his attendants replied, ⁵  “I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem ⁶  who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior ⁷  and is articulate ⁸  and handsome, ⁹  for the Lord is with him.”

16:19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is out with the sheep. 16:20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat ¹⁰  and sent them to Saul with ¹¹  his son David. 16:21 David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal, ¹²  and he became his armor bearer. 16:22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, “Let David be my servant, for I really like him.” ¹³ 

16:23 So whenever the spirit from God would come upon Saul, David would take his lyre and play it. This would bring relief to Saul and make him feel better. Then the evil spirit would leave him alone. ¹⁴ 

1 Samuel 18:10

18:10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied within his house. Now David was playing the lyre ¹⁵  that day. There was a spear in Saul’s hand,

1 Samuel 18:2

18:2 Saul retained David ¹⁶  on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house.

1 Samuel 16:11

16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?” Jesse ¹⁷  replied, “There is still the youngest one, but he’s taking care of the flock.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here.”

1 Samuel 24:1

David Spares Saul’s Life

24:1 (24:2) When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, “Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi.”

1 Samuel 24:1

David Spares Saul’s Life

24:1 (24:2) When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, they told him, “Look, David is in the desert of En Gedi.”

1 Samuel 22:22

22:22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I am guilty ¹⁸  of all the deaths in your father’s house!

1 Samuel 22:1

David Goes to Adullam and Mizpah

22:1 So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s family ¹⁹  learned about it, they went down there to him.

1 Samuel 21:1

21:1 (21:2) David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met ²⁰  David, and said to him, “Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?”

[16:14]  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.”

[16:16]  ² tn Heb “and he will play with his hand.”

[16:16]  ³ tn Heb “and it will be better for you.”

[16:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “see.”

[16:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[16:18]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[16:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “mighty man of valor and a man of war.”

[16:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “discerning of word.”

[16:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “a man of form.”

[16:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a kid of the goats.”

[16:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “by the hand of.”

[16:21]  ¹² tn Heb “he loved him.”

[16:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “Let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my eyes.”

[16:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “would turn aside from upon him.”

[18:10]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”

[18:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jesse) has been specified in the translation both here and in v. 12 for clarity.

[22:22]  ¹⁸ tc The translation follows the LXX, which reads “I am guilty,” rather than the MT, which has “I have turned.”

[22:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[21:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “trembled to meet.”