¹Now the Lᴏʀᴅ said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” ²And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lᴏʀᴅ said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lᴏʀᴅ.’ ³Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.” ⁴So Samuel did what the Lᴏʀᴅ said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” ⁵And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lᴏʀᴅ. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁶So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lᴏʀᴅ’s anointed is before Him.” ⁷But the Lᴏʀᴅ said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lᴏʀᴅ does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lᴏʀᴅ looks at the heart.” ⁸So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lᴏʀᴅ chosen this one.” ⁹Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lᴏʀᴅ chosen this one.” ¹⁰Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lᴏʀᴅ has not chosen these.” ¹¹And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” ¹²So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lᴏʀᴅ said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” ¹³Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lᴏʀᴅ came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. ¹⁴But the Spirit of the Lᴏʀᴅ departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lᴏʀᴅ troubled him. ¹⁵And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. ¹⁶Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.” ¹⁷So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” ¹⁸Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lᴏʀᴅ is with him.” ¹⁹Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” ²⁰And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. ²¹So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. ²²Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” ²³And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

¹Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. ²For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. ³Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. ⁴Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. ⁵One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. ⁷For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. ⁸For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ¹¹For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” ¹²So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. ¹³Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. ¹⁴I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. ¹⁵Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. ¹⁶Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; ¹⁷for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. ²⁰Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. ²¹It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. ²²Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. ²³But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

¹How lonely sits the city That was full of people! How like a widow is she, Who was great among the nations! The princess among the provinces Has become a slave! ²She weeps bitterly in the night, Her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers She has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies. ³Judah has gone into captivity, Under affliction and hard servitude; She dwells among the nations, She finds no rest; All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits. ⁴The roads to Zion mourn Because no one comes to the set feasts. All her gates are desolate; Her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted, And she is in bitterness. ⁵Her adversaries have become the master, Her enemies prosper; For the Lᴏʀᴅ has afflicted her Because of the multitude of her transgressions. Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy. ⁶And from the daughter of Zion All her splendor has departed. Her princes have become like deer That find no pasture, That flee without strength Before the pursuer. ⁷In the days of her affliction and roaming, Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things That she had in the days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the enemy, With no one to help her, The adversaries saw her And mocked at her downfall. ⁸Jerusalem has sinned gravely, Therefore she has become vile. All who honored her despise her Because they have seen her nakedness; Yes, she sighs and turns away. ⁹Her uncleanness is in her skirts; She did not consider her destiny; Therefore her collapse was awesome; She had no comforter. “O Lᴏʀᴅ, behold my affliction, For the enemy is exalted!” ¹⁰The adversary has spread his hand Over all her pleasant things; For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, Those whom You commanded Not to enter Your assembly. ¹¹All her people sigh, They seek bread; They have given their valuables for food to restore life. “See, O Lᴏʀᴅ, and consider, For I am scorned.” ¹²“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, Which the Lᴏʀᴅ has inflicted In the day of His fierce anger. ¹³“From above He has sent fire into my bones, And it overpowered them; He has spread a net for my feet And turned me back; He has made me desolate And faint all the day. ¹⁴“The yoke of my transgressions was bound; They were woven together by His hands, And thrust upon my neck. He made my strength fail; The Lᴏʀᴅ delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to withstand. ¹⁵“The Lᴏʀᴅ has trampled underfoot all my mighty men in my midst; He has called an assembly against me To crush my young men; The Lᴏʀᴅ trampled as in a winepress The virgin daughter of Judah. ¹⁶“For these things I weep; My eye, my eye overflows with water; Because the comforter, who should restore my life, Is far from me. My children are desolate Because the enemy prevailed.” ¹⁷Zion spreads out her hands, But no one comforts her; The Lᴏʀᴅ has commanded concerning Jacob That those around him become his adversaries; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them. ¹⁸“The Lᴏʀᴅ is righteous, For I rebelled against His commandment. Hear now, all peoples, And behold my sorrow; My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity. ¹⁹“I called for my lovers, But they deceived me; My priests and my elders Breathed their last in the city, While they sought food To restore their life. ²⁰“See, O Lᴏʀᴅ, that I am in distress; My soul is troubled; My heart is overturned within me, For I have been very rebellious. Outside the sword bereaves, At home it is like death. ²¹“They have heard that I sigh, But no one comforts me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; They are glad that You have done it. Bring on the day You have announced, That they may become like me. ²²“Let all their wickedness come before You, And do to them as You have done to me For all my transgressions; For my sighs are many, And my heart is faint.”

¹A Psalm of David. A Contemplation. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. ²Blessed is the man to whom the Lᴏʀᴅ does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. ⁴For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah ⁵I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lᴏʀᴅ,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah ⁶For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him. ⁷You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah ⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. ⁹Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. ¹⁰Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the Lᴏʀᴅ, mercy shall surround him. ¹¹Be glad in the Lᴏʀᴅ and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!