Shammah

1God said to Samuel, "How long will you be sad about Saul? I have said he can no longer be king of Israel. Fill your horn with olive oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem. I have picked one of his sons to be king."

And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

NoteSamuel was a prophet, someone who told people what God said. A horn was a real animal horn, hollowed out and used as a bottle. Bethlehem was a small town where sheep and grain were raised.

2Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me." God said, "Take a young cow with you. Say, 'I have come to give a gift to God.'"

And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

NoteA gift to God usually meant an animal, given at a stone table called an altar. Part of the meat was burned, and the rest was cooked and shared as a meal.

3"Invite Jesse to come to the offering. Then I will show you what to do. Pour oil on the one I point out to you."

And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.

NotePouring olive oil on someone's head was how a king was chosen long ago. It was a sign that God had picked that person for the job.

4Samuel did what God said and went to Bethlehem. The leaders of the town were shaking with fear when he came. They asked, "Have you come in peace?"

And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

NoteThe leaders of a town were called elders. They were the older men everyone listened to when a choice had to be made.

5He said, "In peace. I have come to give a gift to God. Get yourselves ready, and come with me." Then he helped Jesse and his sons get ready and invited them.

And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

NoteGetting ready meant washing and putting on clean clothes before coming to God. People did this so they would be fit to join the meal.

6When they came, Samuel looked at Eliab. He thought, "Surely this is the man God has chosen."

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.

NoteEliab was the oldest son. Back then the oldest son was usually given first place, so Samuel expected God to pick him.

7But God said to Samuel, "Do not look at his face or how tall he is. I have not chosen him. People look at the outside. But God looks at the heart."

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

8Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him walk past Samuel. Samuel said, "God has not chosen this one either."

Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

9Then Jesse had Shammah walk past. Samuel said, "God has not chosen this one either."

Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

10Jesse had seven of his sons walk past Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, "God has not chosen any of these."

Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.

11Samuel asked Jesse, "Are these all your sons?" Jesse said, "There is still the youngest. He is out taking care of the sheep." Samuel said, "Send for him. We will not sit down to eat until he comes."

And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

NoteThe youngest boy was often the one sent to watch the sheep. It was a lonely job far from the house.

12So they sent for him and brought him in. His skin had a healthy glow. He had lovely eyes and a fine face. God said, "Get up and pour the oil on him. This is the one."

And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

13Samuel took the horn of oil. He poured it on David while his brothers watched. From that day on, God's Spirit came powerfully on David. Then Samuel got up and went home to Ramah.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

NoteGod's Spirit means God's own power at work inside a person. Ramah was the town where Samuel lived.

12David was the son of a man named Jesse. Jesse came from Bethlehem in Judah, from the Ephrathite family. He had eight sons, and by Saul's time he was an old man.

Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.

NoteEphrathite means Jesse's family came from Ephrath. Ephrath was the old name for the town of Bethlehem.

13Jesse's three oldest sons had gone to the war with Saul. Their names were Eliab, the oldest, then Abinadab, then Shammah.

And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

NoteThe oldest son was called the firstborn. He was given the biggest share of what his father owned.

14David was the youngest son. The three oldest ones went with Saul.

And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.

15David went back and forth. He would leave Saul and go home to care for his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

16Every morning and every evening the Philistine came out and stood there. He did this for forty days.

And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.

NoteForty days is more than a month of waiting.

17Jesse said to his son David, "Take this basket of roasted grain to your brothers. Take these ten loaves of bread too. Hurry to their camp."

And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren.

NoteRoasted grain was cooked over a fire and eaten as a snack, a little like popcorn. The King James calls the basket "an ephah," a measure of grain about the size of a big bucket.

18"Take these ten cheeses to the leader of their group of soldiers. See how your brothers are doing. Bring back word that they are safe."

And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

NoteArmies were split into groups of about a thousand men. Each group had its own leader. There were no letters or phones, so someone had to go and bring news home.

19Saul, David's brothers, and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah. They were fighting the Philistines.

Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20David got up early in the morning. He left the sheep with another keeper. He packed the food and went, just as his father had told him. He reached the camp as the army marched out shouting its war cry.

And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.

NoteA war cry is the loud shout an army makes before it fights.

21Israel and the Philistines lined up, army facing army.

For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.

22David left the food with the man who watched the supplies. Then he ran to the battle line. He found his brothers and asked how they were.

And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.

NoteThe King James says David left his "carriage." Back then that word meant the things you carry, not a cart.

23While David talked with them, Goliath came out again from the Philistine army. He shouted the same words as before, and David heard him.

And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

24When the men of Israel saw Goliath, they ran away from him. They were very afraid.

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

25The men of Israel had been saying, "Do you see this man? He keeps coming out to dare Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich. He will also give him his daughter to marry. And that man's family will not have to pay taxes."

And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.

NoteTaxes are money that families had to pay the king. Never paying taxes again was a very big gift. Marrying the king's daughter would make a man part of the king's family.

26David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine? He would take away Israel's shame. Who is this Philistine anyway? He is not one of God's people. How dare he make fun of the armies of the living God?"

And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

NoteThe men of Israel had a small mark on their bodies. It showed they belonged to God. Calling Goliath "uncircumcised" meant he was an outsider. "The living God" means the God who is really alive. Nearby peoples prayed to statues that could not move or speak.

27The people told him the same thing again. They said, "That is what will be done for the man who kills him."

And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

28Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him talking to the men. Eliab got angry with David. He said, "Why did you come down here? Who is watching those few sheep out in the wild? I know you are proud and up to no good. You only came to watch the fighting."

And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

NoteThe King James says "naughtiness of thine heart." In 1611 that word meant real wickedness, not small mischief.

29David said, "What have I done now? I only asked a question."

And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

30He turned away from Eliab and asked another man the same thing. The people answered him just as before.

And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.