14 (A)Now the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, and (B)an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him. 15 Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrifying you. 16 May our lord now command your servants who are before you. Have them search for a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall come about whenever the evil spirit from God is upon you, that (C)he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will become well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Now select for me a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” 18 Then one of the young men responded and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, (D)a valiant mighty man, a warrior, skillful in speech, and a handsome man; and (E)the Lord is with him.” 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse [a]to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the flock.” 20 And Jesse (F)took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine, and he took a young goat, and sent them to Saul by his son David. 21 Then David came to Saul and [b](G)attended him; and Saul greatly loved him, and he became his armor bearer. 22 So Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Let David now [c]be my attendant for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 So it came about whenever (H)the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would feel relieved and become well, and the evil spirit would leave him.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 16:19 Lit and said
  2. 1 Samuel 16:21 Lit stood before him
  3. 1 Samuel 16:22 Lit stand before me

14 The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 Saul’s servants told him, “Look, an evil spirit from God is troubling you. 16 Let our lord order his servants who attend you[a] to look for a man who is skilled in playing the lyre. And then when an evil spirit from God comes on you, he will play[b] and you will be better.”

17 Saul told his servants, “Find[c] a man for me who can play well and bring him to me.”

18 One of the young men answered: “Look, I’ve seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skilled in playing. The man is a valiant soldier, gifted in speech, and handsome. 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 one kid, and sent them to Saul along with his son David. 21 David went to Saul and began to serve him.[d] Saul loved him very much, and he became his armor bearer. 22 Saul sent a messenger[e] to Jesse to tell him, “Allow David to serve me, because I’m pleased with him.”[f] 23 Whenever an evil[g] spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the lyre and play it.[h] Relief would come to Saul and he would be better, because the evil spirit would leave him.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 16:16 Lit. who are before you
  2. 1 Samuel 16:16 Lit. play with his hand
  3. 1 Samuel 16:17 Lit. Provide
  4. 1 Samuel 16:21 Lit. stood before him
  5. 1 Samuel 16:22 The Heb. lacks a messenger
  6. 1 Samuel 16:22 Lit. because he has found favor in my sight
  7. 1 Samuel 16:23 The Heb. lacks evil
  8. 1 Samuel 16:23 Lit. play with his hand