A   The Lorde sayde vnto Samuel: Howe longe wylt thou mourne for Saul, seynge I haue cast hym awaye from raygnynge ouer Israel? Fyll thyne horne with oyntm&ebar;t, and come, that I maye sende the to Isai the Bethlehemite, for I haue prouided me a kynge amonge hys sonnes. And Samuel sayd: howe can I goo? For yf Saul heare it, he will kyll me. The Lorde answered: Take an heifer &wt; the, and saye: I am come to offer to the Lorde. And call Isai to the offerynge, and I wyll shewe the, what þu; shalt do: And thou shalt anoynt hym whom I name vnto the. And so Samuel dyd as the Lorde bad him, and came to Bethlehem, and the elders of the towne were astonnied at his c&obar;myng, and sayde: ^note Commest thou peaceably? He answered: Yee, I am come to offer vnto the Lorde. B   &rhand; ^note Sanctifye youre selues, ∧ come with me to the offerynge. And he sanctifyed Isai ∧ his sonnes, ∧ bad th&ebar; to the offerynge. And wh&ebar; they were come, he loked on Eliab, ∧ sayde: &rhand; Surely the Lordes anoynted is before hym. But the Lorde sayde vnto Samuel: loke not on his fashyon, or on þe; heyght of hys stature, because I haue refused hym: for God seyth not as man seyth. For man loketh on the outwarde appera&ubar;ce but God beholdeth the harte. Then Isai called Abinadab, and made him come before Samuel. And he sayde: nether hath the Lorde chosen thys. Then Isai made Samma come, and he sayde: nether yet hath the Lorde chosen him. Agayne, Isai made seu&ebar; of his s&obar;nes to come before Samuel. And Samuel sayde vnto Isai: the Lorde hath chosen none of these.

C   And Samuel sayde vnto Isai: are here all thy chyldren? He sayde: there is yet a lytle one behynde, that kepeth the shepe. And Samuel sayd vnto Isai: sende and fette him, for we will not sytte downe, tyll he be come hyther. And he sent, ∧ brought hym in. And he was browne, and of an excell&ebar;t bewtye, ^note ∧ well fauored in syght. And the Lorde sayde: Aryse, and anoynt him, for this is he. Therfore Samuel toke the horne wyth the oyntment, ∧ anoynted him in the myddes of hys brethren. And the sprete of the Lorde came vp&obar; Dauid, from that daye forwarde. And Samuel rose vp, and went to Rama.

But the sprete of the Lorde departed fr&obar; Saul, and an euell sprete sent of the Lorde vexed him. And Sauls serua&ubar;tes sayde vnto him: Beholde, an euell sprete sent of God vexed the, lett oure Lord therfore c&obar;maunde his seruauntes (that are before the) to seke a man, þt; is a connynge player wyth an harpe: that when the euell sprete sent of God commeth vpon the, he maye playe with hys h&abar;de and thou shalt be eased. Saul sayde vnto his seruauntes: prouide me a man then that can playe well, and bringe him to me. D   Then answered one of his seruauntes and sayde: Beholde, I haue sene a sonne of Isai the Bethlehemite, that can playe vpon instrum&ebar;tes, and is an actiue felowe, and a man of warre and prud&ebar;t in doynge of feates, ∧ well made and the Lorde is with hym. Wherfore Saul sent messengers vnto Isai, and sayde: sende me Dauid thy sonne, which is wyth þe; shepe. And Isai toke an asse laden with breed, and

Dauid a flacket of wyne, and a kyd, and sent them by Dauid his sonne vnto Saul. And Dauid came to Saul, ∧ stode before him, ∧ he loued him very well, and he was made his harnesbearer. And Saul sent to Isai, sayinge: lett Dauid remayne with me, for he hath founde fauour in my syght. And so it fortuned, that when the euell sprete sent of God came vpon Saul, Dauid toke an harpe, ∧ played wyth his hande, ∧ so Saul was refreshed, ∧ dyd amende, and the euell sprete departed fr&obar; him.

Previous section

Next section