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

¹⁴ Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit^[a] that filled him with depression and fear.

¹⁵ Some of Saul’s servants said to him, “A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you. 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.”

¹⁷ “All right,” Saul said. “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here.”

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.”

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, a donkey loaded with bread, and a wineskin full of wine.

²¹ So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved David very much, and David became his armor bearer.

²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, “Please let David remain in my service, 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.