Help QuickNav Adv. Options
NLT

NLT

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

Copy
Copy Options
Format by: Verse Paragraph
Strong's
Red Letter
Audio Bibles
Copy Options
Cite Print
The Blue Letter Bible

1 Samuel 16 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Choose a new font size and typeface
Audio Bibles
Samuel Anoints David as King

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:1 - Now the LORD said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:2 - But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
“Take a heifer with you,” the LORD replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the LORD.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:3 - Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:4 - So Samuel did as the LORD instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:5 - “Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:6 - When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the LORD’s anointed!”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:7 - But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:8 - Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the LORD has chosen.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:9 - Next Jesse summoned Shimea,[fn] but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the LORD has chosen.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:10 - In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:11 - Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”
“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:12 - So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.
And the LORD said, “This is the one; anoint him.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:13 - So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.
David Serves in Saul’s Court

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:14 - Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit[fn] that filled him with depression and fear.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:15 - Some of Saul’s servants said to him, “A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:16 - Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:17 - “All right,” Saul said. “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:18 - One of the servants said to Saul, “One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that—he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the LORD is with him.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:19 - So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, the shepherd.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:20 - Jesse responded by sending David to Saul, along with a young goat, a donkey loaded with bread, and a wineskin full of wine.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:21 - So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:22 - Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, “Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 16:23

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 16:23 - And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Hebrew Shammah, a variant spelling of Shimea; compare 1 Chr 2:13; 20:7.
Or an evil spirit; also in 16:15, 16, 23.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

BLB Searches
Search the Bible
NLT
  [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
NLT
Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan

1 Samuel Chapter 16 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras