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.” ⁸ Then Jesse called ^(M)Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹ Then Jesse made ^(N)Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, ^(O)“There remains yet the youngest,^[a] but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, ^(P)“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 ^(Q)ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, ^(R)“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” ¹³ Then Samuel took ^(S)the horn of oil ^(T)and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. ^(U)And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

The Lord's Covenant with David

7 ^(A)Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord ^(B)had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, ² the king said to ^(C)Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell ^(D)in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells ^(E)in a tent.” ³ And Nathan said to the king, ^(F)“Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, ⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(G)Would you build me a house to dwell in? ⁶ I have not lived in a house ^(H)since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about ^(I)in a tent for my dwelling. ⁷ In all places where ^(J)I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with ^(K)any of the judges^[a] of Israel, whom I commanded ^(L)to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ ⁸ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, ^(M)I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince^[b] over my people Israel. ^9 (N)And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. ¹⁰ And I will appoint a place for my people Israel ^(O)and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place ^(P)and be disturbed no more. ^(Q)And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, ^11 (R)from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And ^(S)I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that ^(T)the Lord will make you a house. ^12 (U)When your days are fulfilled and ^(V)you lie down with your fathers, ^(W)I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body,^[c] and I will establish his kingdom. ^13 (X)He shall build a house for my name, and ^(Y)I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ^14 (Z)I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, ^(AA)I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, ^15 (AB)but my steadfast love will not depart from him, ^(AC)as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. ^16 (AD)And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.^{[d] (AE)}Your throne shall be established forever.’” ¹⁷ In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

David's Prayer of Gratitude

¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, ^(AF)“Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? ¹⁹ And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. ^(AG)You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! ²⁰ And what more can David say to you? ^(AH)For you know your servant, O Lord God! ²¹ Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. ^22 (AI)Therefore you are great, O Lord God. ^(AJ)For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ^23 (AK)And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name ^(AL)and doing for them^[e] great and awesome things by driving out before your people,^[f] whom ^(AM)you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? ^24 (AN)And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. ²⁵ And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. ²⁶ And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. ²⁷ For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. ²⁸ And now, O Lord God, you are God, and ^(AO)your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. ²⁹ Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, ^(AP)and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”