David Is Chosen as King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I see a king for myself among his sons.”

² Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You are to anoint for me the person that I point out to you.”

⁴ So Samuel did what the Lord had told him to do and went to Bethlehem. Trembling with fear, the elders of the city came to meet him. They said, “Do you come in peace?”

⁵ He said, “Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” He consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they had come, he looked at Eliab and said, “Certainly this is the Lord’s anointed.”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at how tall he is, because I have rejected him. For the Lord does not look at things the way man does. For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”

⁹ Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”

¹⁰ Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹ Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?”

Jesse said, “There still is the youngest, but he is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him, for we cannot sit down to eat until he comes.”

¹² He sent for him and brought him in. David had red hair^[a] and striking eyes, and was good-looking. The Lord said, “Get up! Anoint him, because this is the one.”

¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed on David with power from that day forward. After that Samuel set out and returned to Ramah.

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

² Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. ⁴ Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. ⁵ Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse. ⁶ Jesse was the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa. ⁸ Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram. Joram was the father^[a] of Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the Babylonian exile.

¹² After the Babylonian exile, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor. ¹⁴ Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Achim. Achim was the father of Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. ¹⁶ Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom Jesus was born (who is called Christ).

¹⁷ So altogether there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen generations from the Babylonian exile to Christ.