And Samuel took the horn with the ointment and anointed him in the presence of his brethren. And the spirit of the LORD came upon David, from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

Whereupon Saul sent messengers unto Jesse and said, "Send me David thy son which is with the sheep."

And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a flacket of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.

And David went to Saul and came before him, and he loved him very well; so that he was made his harness bearer.

And Saul sent to Jesse saying, "Let David remain with me, for he hath found favour in my sight."

And when the spirit of God came upon Saul, David took a harp and played with his hand, and so Saul was refreshed, and did amend; and the evil spirit departed from him.

And this David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, named Jesse; which Jesse had eight sons, and was an old man in the days of Saul among the people.

And David was the youngest. And when the three eldest were gone after Saul,

David went and departed from Saul, to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

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

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 came where the host lay. And the host was going out in array, and shouted in the battle:

Then David put the pannier from him, unto the hands of the keeper of the vessels, and ran into the host and came and saluted his brethren.

And as he talked with them, behold, there stood a man in the midst: Goliath the Philistine by name, of Gath, which came out of the array of the Philistines, and spake of the manner above rehearsed, that David heard it.

Then spake David to the men that stood by and said, "What shall be done to the man that beateth this Philistine and taketh away the shame from Israel? For what is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should revile the host of the living God?"

And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the man and was angry with David and said, "Why camest thou away, and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the malice of thine heart, that thou art come to see the battle."

And David answered, "What have I now done? Is there any more, save a word?"

And they that heard the words which David spake, rehearsed them before Saul, which caused him to be fetched.

And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail him because of him. Thy servant will go and fight with his Philistine."

And Saul said to David again, "Thou art not able to go unto this Philistine, to fight with him. For thou art but a lad, and he hath been a man of war even from his youth."

Then said David unto Saul, "As thy servant kept his father's sheep, there came a Lion and likewise a Bear, and took a sheep out of the flock.

And David spake moreover, "The LORD that delivered me out of the hands of the Lion and out of the hands of the Bear, he shall deliver me also out of the hands of the Philistine." Then said Saul to David, "Go, and the LORD be with thee."

And Saul put his raiment upon David, and put a helmet of brass upon his head, and put a coat of mail upon him,

and gird David with his own sword upon his raiment. And he assayed to go, for he never proved it. Then said David unto Saul, "I cannot go in these, for I have not been used thereto." And put them off him,

And the Philistine came and drew near to David, with the man that bare a shield before him.

And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a lad, ruddy and goodly to look upon.

And the Philistine said unto David, "Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with a staff?" And he cursed David in the name of his gods.

And he said to David, "Come to me and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field."

Then said David to the Philistine, "Thou comest to me with a sword, a spear, and a shield: But I come to thee in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the host of Israel whom thou hast railed upon.

And when the Philistine arose and came and drew nigh unto David, David hasted and ran in array even against the Philistine.

And David put his hand in his poke and took out a stone and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead that the stone sunk into his forehead, and he fell groveling to the earth.

And so David overcame the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and smote the Philistine and slew him. And because David had no sword in his hand,

And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem: But he put his armour in his tent.

When Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner the captain of his host, "Abner, whose son is this lad?" And Abner answered, "As truly as thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell."

And so when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

And Saul said to him, "Whose son art thou, thou lad?" And David answered, "The son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

And when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David; insomuch that Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

And Jonathan and David bound themselves the one to the other, for Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

And Jonathan put off his own coat that was upon him, and gave it David, and thereto his mantle, his sword, his bow and his girdle.

And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely. And when Saul had set him over his men of war, he pleased all the people, and Saul's servants thereto.

And it happened as they went, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that women came out of all cities of Israel singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with fiddles.

And the women that played sang thereto, and said, "Saul hath slain his thousand, and David his ten thousand."

Then was Saul exceeding wroth and that saying displeased him, and he said, "They have ascribed unto David ten thousand, and to me but a thousand. And what more can he have, save the kingdom?"

Wherefore Saul looked sourly upon David from that day forward.

And it happened on the morrow, that the evil spirit sent of God came upon Saul, so that he prophesied in the midst of the house. And David played on the instrument with his hand as he was daily wont.

And Saul had a spear in his hand, and hurled it; intending to have nailed David to the wall. But David avoided out of his presence two times.

For Saul was afraid of David: because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.

And then Saul put David from him and made him a captain over a thousand, and he went out and in before the people.

And David was wise in all that he took in hand, and the LORD was with him.

But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and in before them.

Then said Saul to David, "Behold, my eldest daughter Merab: her I will give thee to wife; only play the man and fight the LORD's battles." For Saul thought, "Mine hand shall not be upon him, but the hand of the Philistines."

And David answered Saul, "What am I? And what is my life or the kindred of my father in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?"

Howbeit, when the time was come that Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David she was given unto Adriel, a Meholathite, to wife.

Nevertheless, Michal Saul's daughter loved David. And when it was showed Saul, the thing pleased him well.

And he said, "I will give him her that she may be a snare to him, to bring the hand of the Philistines upon him." And Saul said to David, "Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law again."

And Saul commanded his servants to commune with David secretly and say, "Behold, the king hath a favour to thee, and all his servants love thee - be therefore the king's son-in-law."

And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. But David answered, "Seemeth it to you a light thing to be the king's son-in-law, when I am a poor man and of small reputation?"

And Saul's servants told him again, saying, "Of this manner answered David."

Then said Saul, "This wise say to David: 'The king careth for no other dowry but for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies." For Saul thought to make David fall into the hands of the Philistines.

Then his servants told David these words, and it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law.

And shortly after that, David arose with his men, and went, and slew of the Philistines, two hundred men; and brought their foreskins, and satisfied the king thereof to be his son-in-law. And so Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.

And when Saul saw and understood, how that the LORD was with David, and that Michal his daughter loved him,

he was the more afraid of David, and became David's enemy forever.

And when the Philistines went out to war, David behaved himself wiselier than all the servants of Saul: so that his name was much set by.

Then Saul communed with Jonathan his son, and with all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan Saul's son had a great favour to David,

and told David saying, "Saul my father goeth about to slay thee. Now therefore take heed to thyself betimes and abide in some secret place and hide thyself.

And Jonathan spake the best of David unto Saul his father and said unto him, "Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he hath not sinned against thee, and his works are to thee ward very good.

For he did put his life in his hand and slew the Philistine, and the LORD gave a great victory to all Israel. And thou sawest it, and thou rejoicedest. Wherefore then shouldest thou sin against innocent blood, and slay David for nought?"

Then Jonathan called David and showed him all those words, and brought him to Saul. And he was in his presence as in times past.

And the war began again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines and slew a great slaughter, and put them to flight.

And the evil spirit of the LORD was upon Saul as he sat in his house having a javelin in his hand, and David played with his hand.

And Saul intended to nail David to the wall with the Javelin: But David rid himself out of Saul's presence and he smote the spear into the wall. But David fled and saved himself that same night.

Then Saul sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him and to slay him in the morning. But Michal his wife told it him saying, "If thou save not thyself this night, tomorrow thou art a dead man."

And so Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled and saved himself.

And when Saul sent messengers to fetch David, she said that he was sick.

Then Saul sent the messengers to see David saying, "Bring him to me, bed and all, that he may be slain."

And so David fled and escaped and went to Samuel to Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

And it was told Saul, saying, "Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah."

Then Saul sent messengers to fetch David. And when they saw a company of prophets prophesying and Samuel standing fast by them, the spirit of God fell upon the messengers of Saul, and they prophesied too.

Then went he himself to Ramah, and when he came to a great well that is in Secu, he asked and said, "Where are Samuel and David?" And they said, "See, they be at Naioth in Ramah."

And David fled from Naioth in Ramah and went and said before Jonathan, "What have I done? Wherein am I faulty? What is the sin that I have committed before thy father that he seeketh my life?"

And David sware again and said, "Thy father knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes and therefore he thinketh, 'Jonathan shall not know it, lest he be sorry.' For in very deed even as truly as the LORD liveth, and as truly as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death."

Then said Jonathan unto David, "Whatsoever thy soul desireth, that I will do unto thee."

And David said unto Jonathan, "Behold, tomorrow is the first day of the month, and I should sit with the king at meat. But let me go that I may hide myself in the fields unto this day three days at evening.

If thy father miss me, then say, 'David asked leave of me, that he might go to Bethlehem to his own city, for there is holden a yearly feast for all his kin.'

Then said David, "Who shall tell me, if thy father answer cruelly?"

Then said Jonathan to David, "Come, and let us go out into the fields." And they went out both of them into the fields.

And Jonathan said unto David, "O LORD God of Israel, when I have groped my father's mind, one time or other within this three days, that it stand well with David: and I then send not unto thee and show it thee, the LORD do so and so unto Jonathan.

No, not when the LORD hath destroyed the enemies of David, every one, from the face of the earth."

And so Jonathan made a bond with the house of David, desiring that the LORD should seek, out of the hands of David's enemies, their wickedness.

And with other words Jonathan adjured David, because he loved him. For as his own soul he loved him.

Then said Jonathan to David, "Tomorrow shall be the first day of the moon. And thou shalt be missed, because the place shall appear empty.

And so David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon was come, the king sat him down at meat, for to eat.

And the king sat him down after the old manner, in his seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.

But on the morrow which was the second day of the moon, when David's place appeared empty, Saul said unto Jonathan his son, "Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday nor today?"

And Jonathan answered unto Saul, "David asked license of me to go to Bethlehem, saying,

Then Saul cast a spear at him to hit him, whereby Jonathan wist well, that it was utterly determined of his father to slay David.

And so Jonathan arose from the table in a great anger and did eat no meat the second day of the month, for he was sorry for David, because his father had done him shame.

On the next morning, Jonathan went out unto the field, at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.

But the lad knew nothing of the matter: only Jonathan and David wist it.

And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place that was toward the south and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times. And they kissed one another and wept together - but David more abundantly.