1. The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you continue to feel sorry for Saul? I have rejected him as king of Israel. Fill your container with olive oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse who lives in Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
2. But Samuel said, “If I go, Saul will hear the news. And he will try to kill me.”The Lord said, “Take a young calf with you. Say, ‘I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord.’
3. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice. Then I will show you what to do. You must appoint the one I show you.”
4. Samuel did what the Lord told him to do. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of Bethlehem shook with fear. They met him and asked, “Are you coming in peace?”
5. Samuel answered, “Yes, I come in peace. I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Make yourselves holy for the Lord and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he made Jesse and his sons holy for the Lord. And he invited them to come to the sacrifice.
6. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab. Samuel thought, “Surely the Lord has appointed this person standing here before him.”
7. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t look at how handsome Eliab is. Don’t look at how tall he is. I have not chosen him. God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8. Then Jesse called Abinadab and told him to pass by Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this man either.”