1 Samuel 16:14-23

Evangelical Heritage Version

David and Saul Meet

¹⁴ The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil^[a] spirit from the Lord tormented him.

¹⁵ So Saul’s servants said to him, “Please listen to us. An evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Our lord, please command your servants who are here with you to seek out a man who is skilled at playing the lyre. Then when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will play the lyre,^[b] and you will feel better.”

¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, “Find a man who can play well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸ Then one of the young attendants replied, “As a matter of fact, I have seen a son of Jesse from Bethlehem who is a skillful player. He is a strong, brave man, fit for war. He shows good judgment in what he says and is a handsome man. And the Lord is with him.”

¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”

²⁰ Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat, and he sent them with his son David to Saul. ²¹ David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul loved him, and David became his armor bearer. ²² So Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Permit David to remain and serve me, for I am very pleased with him.” ²³ Whenever the spirit from God came over Saul, David would take the lyre in his hand and play. So Saul would be soothed and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.