1 Samuel 16

• 1. Finally, the LORD said to Samuel, "You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel. Now fill your horn 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 new king."
• 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.
• 3. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me."
• 4. So Samuel did as the LORD instructed him. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the leaders of the town became afraid. "What's wrong?" they asked. "Do you come in peace?"
• 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, too.
• 6. When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, "Surely this is the LORD's anointed!"
• 7. But the LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn't make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at a person's thoughts and intentions."
• 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."
• 9. Next Jesse summoned Shammah, but Samuel said, "Neither is this the one the LORD has chosen."
• 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."
• 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.Send for him at once," Samuel said. "We will not sit down to eat until he arrives."
• 12. So Jesse sent for him. He was ruddy and handsome, with pleasant eyes. And the LORD said, "This is the one; anoint him."
• 13. So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it on David's head. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.
• 14. Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.
• 15. Some of Saul's servants suggested a remedy. "It is clear that a spirit from God is tormenting you," they said.
• 16. "Let us find a good musician to play the harp for you whenever the tormenting spirit is bothering you. The harp music will quiet you, and you will soon be well again."
• 17. "All right," Saul said. "Find me someone who plays well and bring him here."
• 18. One of the servants said to Saul, "The son of Jesse is a talented harp player. Not only that; he is brave and strong and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the LORD is with him."
• 19. So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, "Send me your son David, the shepherd."
• 20. Jesse responded by sending David to Saul, along with a young goat and a donkey loaded down with food and wine.
• 21. So David went to Saul and served him. Saul liked David very much, and David became one of Saul's armor bearers.
• 22. Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, "Please let David join my staff, for I am very pleased with him."
• 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.

1 Samuel 17

• 1. The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.
• 2. Saul countered by gathering his troops near the valley of Elah.
• 3. So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.
• 4. Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall!
• 5. He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds.
• 6. He also wore bronze leggings, and he slung a bronze javelin over his back.
• 7. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver's beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed fifteen pounds. An armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a huge shield.
• 8. Goliath stood and shouted across to the Israelites, "Do you need a whole army to settle this? Choose someone to fight for you, and I will represent the Philistines. We will settle this dispute in single combat!
• 9. If your man is able to kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!
• 10. I defy the armies of Israel! Send me a man who will fight with me!"
• 11. When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.
• 12. Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons in all.
• 13. Jesse's three oldest sons--Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah--had already joined Saul's army to fight the Philistines.
• 14. David was the youngest of Jesse's sons. Since David's three oldest brothers were in the army, they stayed with Saul's forces all the time.
• 15. But David went back and forth between working for Saul and helping his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.
• 16. For forty days, twice a day, morning and evening, the Philistine giant strutted in front of the Israelite army.
• 17. One day Jesse said to David, "Take this half-bushel of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers.
• 18. And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring me back a letter from them. "
• 19. David's brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.
• 20. So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts. He arrived at the outskirts of the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.
• 21. Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army.
• 22. David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers.
• 23. As he was talking with them, he saw Goliath, the champion from Gath, come out from the Philistine ranks, shouting his challenge to the army of Israel.
• 24. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.
• 25. "Have you seen the giant?" the men were asking. "He comes out each day to challenge Israel. And have you heard about the huge reward the king has offered to anyone who kills him? The king will give him one of his daughters for a wife, and his whole family will be exempted from paying taxes!"
• 26. David talked to some others standing there to verify the report. "What will a man get for killing this Philistine and putting an end to his abuse of Israel?" he asked them. "Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?"
• 27. And David received the same reply as before: "What you have been hearing is true. That is the reward for killing the giant."
• 28. But when David's oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. "What are you doing around here anyway?" he demanded. "What about those few sheep you're supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and dishonesty. You just want to see the battle!"
• 29. "What have I done now?" David replied. "I was only asking a question!"
• 30. He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer.
• 31. Then David's question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.
• 32. "Don't worry about a thing," David told Saul. "I'll go fight this Philistine!"
• 33. "Don't be ridiculous!" Saul replied. "There is no way you can go against this Philistine. You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!"
• 34. But David persisted. "I have been taking care of my father's sheep," he said. "When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock,
• 35. I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.
• 36. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!
• 37. The LORD who saved me from the claws of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!" Saul finally consented. "All right, go ahead," he said. "And may the LORD be with you!"
• 38. Then Saul gave David his own armor--a bronze helmet and a coat of mail.
• 39. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. "I can't go in these," he protested. "I'm not used to them." So he took them off again.
• 40. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in his shepherd's bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd's staff and sling, he started across to fight Goliath.
• 41. Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him,
• 42. sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy.
• 43. "Am I a dog," he roared at David, "that you come at me with a stick?" And he cursed David by the names of his gods.
• 44. "Come over here, and I'll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!" Goliath yelled.
• 45. David shouted in reply, "You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD Almighty--the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
• 46. Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!
• 47. And everyone will know that the LORD does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours. The LORD will give you to us!"
• 48. As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.
• 49. Reaching into his shepherd's bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it from his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face downward to the ground.
• 50. So David triumphed over the Philistine giant with only a stone and sling. And since he had no sword,
• 51. he ran over and pulled Goliath's sword from its sheath. David used it to kill the giant and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.
• 52. Then the Israelites gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron.
• 53. Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp.
• 54. (David took Goliath's head to Jerusalem, but he stored the Philistine's armor in his own tent.)
• 55. As Saul watched David go out to fight Goliath, he asked Abner, the general of his army, "Abner, whose son is he?I really don't know," Abner said.
• 56. "Well, find out!" the king told him.
• 57. After David had killed Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine's head still in his hand.
• 58. "Tell me about your father, my boy," Saul said. And David replied, "His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem."

1 Samuel 18

• 1. After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king's son. There was an immediate bond of love between them, and they became the best of friends.
• 2. From that day on Saul kept David with him at the palace and wouldn't let him return home.
• 3. And Jonathan made a special vow to be David's friend,
• 4. and he sealed the pact by giving him his robe, tunic, sword, bow, and belt.
• 5. Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander in his army, an appointment that was applauded by the fighting men and officers alike.
• 6. But something happened when the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed Goliath. Women came out from all the towns along the way to celebrate and to cheer for King Saul, and they sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals.
• 7. This was their song: "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!"
• 8. This made Saul very angry. "What's this?" he said. "They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they'll be making him their king!"
• 9. So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
• 10. The very next day, in fact, a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave like a madman. David began to play the harp, as he did whenever this happened. But Saul, who had a spear in his hand,
• 11. suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David jumped aside and escaped. This happened another time, too,
• 12. for Saul was afraid of him, and he was jealous because the LORD had left him and was now with David.
• 13. Finally, Saul banned him from his presence and appointed him commander over only a thousand men, but David faithfully led his troops into battle.
• 14. David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the LORD was with him.
• 15. When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him.
• 16. But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.
• 17. One day Saul said to David, "I am ready to give you my older daughter, Merab, as your wife. But first you must prove yourself to be a real warrior by fighting the LORD's battles." For Saul thought to himself, "I'll send him out against the Philistines and let them kill him rather than doing it myself."
• 18. "Who am I, and what is my family in Israel that I should be the king's son-in-law?" David exclaimed. "My father's family is nothing!"
• 19. So when the time came for the wedding, Saul gave Merab in marriage to Adriel, a man from Meholah.
• 20. In the meantime, Saul's daughter Michal had fallen in love with David, and Saul was delighted when he heard about it.
• 21. "Here's another chance to see him killed by the Philistines!" Saul said to himself. But to David he said, "I have a way for you to become my son-in-law after all!"
• 22. Then Saul told his men to say confidentially to David, "The king really likes you, and so do we. Why don't you accept the king's offer and become his son-in-law?"
• 23. When Saul's men said these things to David, he replied, "How can a poor man from a humble family afford the bride price for the daughter of a king?"
• 24. When Saul's men reported this back to the king,
• 25. he told them, "Tell David that all I want for the bride price is one hundred Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want." But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.
• 26. David was delighted to accept the offer. So before the time limit expired,
• 27. he and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines and presented all their foreskins to the king. So Saul gave Michal to David to be his wife.
• 28. When the king realized how much the LORD was with David and how much Michal loved him,
• 29. he became even more afraid of him, and he remained David's enemy for the rest of his life.
• 30. Whenever the Philistine army attacked, David was more successful against them than all the rest of Saul's officers. So David's name became very famous throughout the land.

New Living Translation: 87 of 324 days.