Samuel Goes to Bethlehem

16 Now 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 ^(D)Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have ^(E)selected a king for Myself among his sons.” ² But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “^(F)Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and ^(G)I will show you what you shall do; and ^(H)you shall anoint for Me the one whom I ^[a]designate to you.” ⁴ So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to ^(I)Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “^(J)Do you come in peace?” ⁵ He said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^(K)Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they entered, he looked at ^(L)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for ^[b]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, ^(M)but the Lord looks at the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called ^(N)Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ⁹ Next Jesse made ^[c](O)Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ¹⁰ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “^(P)There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and ^[d]bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

David Anointed

¹² So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with ^(Q)beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “^(R)Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” ¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and ^(S)anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and ^(T)the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

^14 (U)Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and ^(V)an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him. ¹⁵ Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. ¹⁶ Let our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that ^(W)he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.” ¹⁷ So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.” ¹⁸ Then one of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, ^(X)a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and ^(Y)the Lord is with him.” ¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David who is with the flock.” ²⁰ Jesse ^(Z)took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat, and sent them to Saul by David his son. ²¹ Then David came to Saul and ^[e](AA)attended him; and ^[f]Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. ²² Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” ²³ So it came about whenever ^(AB)the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Lamedh.

You Are Built Up in Christ

2 For I want you to know how great a ^(A)struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at ^(B)Laodicea, and for all those who have not ^[a]personally seen my face, ² that their ^(C)hearts may be encouraged, having been ^(D)knit together in love, and attaining to all ^(E)the wealth ^[b]that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a ^(F)true knowledge of ^(G)God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, ³ in whom are hidden all ^(H)the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ^4 (I)I say this so that no one will delude you with ^(J)persuasive argument. ⁵ For even though I am ^(K)absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing ^[c]to see ^[d]your ^(L)good discipline and the ^(M)stability of your faith in Christ.

⁶ Therefore as you have received ^(N)Christ Jesus the Lord, so ^[e](O)walk in Him, ⁷ having been firmly ^(P)rooted and now being ^(Q)built up in Him and ^(R)established ^[f]in your faith, just as you ^(S)were instructed, and overflowing ^[g]with gratitude.

^8 (T)See to it that no one takes you captive through ^(U)philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the ^(V)elementary principles of the world, ^[h]rather than according to Christ. ⁹ For in Him all the ^(W)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been ^(X)made ^[i]complete, and ^(Y)He is the head ^[j]over all ^(Z)rule and authority; ¹¹ and in Him ^(AA)you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of ^(AB)the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; ¹² having been ^(AC)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also ^(AD)raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who ^(AE)raised Him from the dead. ¹³ When you were ^(AF)dead ^[k]in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He ^(AG)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, ¹⁴ having canceled out ^(AH)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and ^(AI)He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ When He had ^[l](AJ)disarmed the ^(AK)rulers and authorities, He ^(AL)made a public display of them, having ^(AM)triumphed over them through ^[m]Him.

¹⁶ Therefore no one is to ^[n](AN)act as your judge in regard to ^(AO)food or ^(AP)drink or in respect to a ^(AQ)festival or a ^(AR)new moon or a ^(AS)Sabbath ^[o]day— ¹⁷ things which are ^(AT)a mere shadow of what is to come; but the ^[p]substance ^[q]belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Let no one keep ^[r](AU)defrauding you of your prize by ^(AV)delighting in ^[s]self-abasement and the worship of the angels, ^[t]taking his stand on visions he has seen, ^[u](AW)inflated without cause by his ^(AX)fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding fast to ^(AY)the head, from whom ^(AZ)the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ^[v]ligaments, grows with a growth ^[w]which is from God.

^20 (BA)If you have died with Christ ^[x]to the ^(BB)elementary principles of the world, ^(BC)why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to ^(BD)decrees, such as, ²¹ “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” ²² (which all refer ^(BE)to things destined to perish ^[y]with use)—in accordance with the ^(BF)commandments and teachings of men? ²³ These are matters which have, to be sure, the ^[z]appearance of wisdom in ^[aa](BG)self-made religion and self-abasement and ^(BH)severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against ^(BI)fleshly indulgence.