¹⁶ “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” he replied.

¹⁷ Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant,^(A) haven’t you become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel ¹⁸ and then sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have annihilated them.’ ¹⁹ So why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you rush on the plunder^(B) and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”

²⁰ “But I did obey the Lord!” Saul answered.^[a] “I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back King Agag of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”^(C)

²² Then Samuel said:

Samuel Anoints David

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul,^(A) since I have rejected him as king over Israel?^(B) Fill your horn with oil^(C) and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem^(D) because I have selected for myself a king from his sons.”

² Samuel asked, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!”

The Lord answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’^{(E) 3} Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do.^(F) You are to anoint for me the one I indicate to you.”^(G)

⁴ Samuel did what the Lord directed and went to Bethlehem.^(H) When the elders of the town met him, they trembled^[a] and asked, “Do^[b] you come in peace?” ^(I)

⁵ “In peace,” he replied. “I’ve come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves^(J) and come with me to the sacrifice.”^[c] Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab^(K) and said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before him.”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees,^[d] for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”^(L)

⁸ Jesse called Abinadab^(M) and presented him to Samuel. “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said. ⁹ Then Jesse presented Shammah,^(N) but Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.” ¹⁰ After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.” ¹¹ Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,”^(O) he answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.” ¹² So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy,^[e] handsome appearance.^(P)

Then the Lord said, “Anoint him, for he is the one.”^{(Q) 13} So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him^(R) in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David from that day forward.^(S) Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

⁴ David was thirty years old when he began his reign;^(A) he reigned forty years.

⁹ David took up residence in the stronghold, which he named the city of David. He built it up all the way around from the supporting terraces inward. ¹⁰ David became more and more powerful,^(A) and the Lord God of Armies was with him.^{(B) 11} King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David; he also sent cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons,^(C) and they built a palace for David. ¹² Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

The Lord’s Covenant with David

7 When the king had settled into his palace^(A) and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, ² the king said to the prophet Nathan,^(B) “Look, I am living in a cedar house while the ark of God sits inside tent curtains.”^(C)

³ So Nathan told the king, “Go and do all that is on your mind, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: ⁵ “Go to my servant David and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you to build me a house to dwell in?^{(D) 6} From the time I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until today I have not dwelt in a house; instead, I have been moving around with a tent as my dwelling.^{(E) 7} In all my journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever spoken a word to one of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, asking: Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?’

⁸ “So now this is what you are to say to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel.^{(F) 9} I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a great name^(G) for you like that of the greatest on the earth.^{(H) 10} I will designate a place^(I) for my people Israel and plant them,^(J) so that they may live there and not be disturbed again. Evildoers will not continue to oppress them as they have done ¹¹ ever since the day I ordered judges to be over my people Israel.^(K) I will give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘The Lord declares to you: The Lord himself will make a house for you. ¹² When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.^{(L) 13} He is the one who will build a house for my name,^(M) and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.^{(N) 14} I will be his father, and he will be my son.^(O) When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and blows from mortals. ¹⁵ But my faithful love will never leave him^(P) as it did when I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.^{(Q) 16} Your house and kingdom will endure before me^[a] forever,^(R) and your throne will be established forever.’”^(S)

¹⁷ Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.

David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving

¹⁸ Then King David went in,^(T) sat in the Lord’s presence, and said,

Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me this far? ¹⁹ What you have done so far^[b] was a little thing to you, Lord God, for you have also spoken about your servant’s house in the distant future. And this is a revelation^[c] for mankind, Lord God. ²⁰ What more can David say to you? You know your servant,^(U) Lord God. ²¹ Because of your word and according to your will, you have revealed all these great things to your servant.

²² This is why you are great,^(V) Lord God. There is no one like you, and there is no God besides you,^(W) as all we have heard confirms. ²³ And who is like your people Israel? God came to one nation on earth in order to redeem a people for himself, to make a name for himself, and to perform for them^[d] great and awesome acts,^[e] driving out nations and their gods before your people you redeemed for yourself from Egypt.^{(X) 24} You established your people Israel to be your own people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.^(Y)

Psalm 51

A Prayer for Restoration

For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.^(A)