¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to ^(A)Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^(B)before the Lord in Gilgal. There ^(C)they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, ^(A)“You have done foolishly. ^(B)You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now ^(C)your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man ^(D)after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince^[a] over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

David Anointed King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, ^(A)“How long will you grieve over Saul, since ^(B)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? ^(C)Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, ^(D)for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” ² And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ^(E)‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. ^(F)And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” ⁴ Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city ^(G)came to meet him trembling and said, ^(H)“Do you come peaceably?” ⁵ And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^(I)Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they came, he looked on ^(J)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, ^(K)“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, ^(L)but the Lord looks on the heart.”

¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, ^(A)“There remains yet the youngest,^[a] but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, ^(B)“Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” ¹² And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ^(C)ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ^(D)“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” ¹³ Then Samuel took ^(E)the horn of oil ^(F)and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. ^(G)And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.