1 Samuel 16:14
New International Version
Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

New Living Translation
Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.

English Standard Version
Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him.

Berean Standard Bible
After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him.

King James Bible
But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

New King James Version
But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.

New American Standard Bible
Now the Spirit of the LORD left Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrified him.

NASB 1995
Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him.

NASB 1977
Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh terrorized him.

Amplified Bible
Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented and terrified him.

Christian Standard Bible
Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and an evil spirit sent from the LORD began to torment him,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and an evil spirit sent from the LORD began to torment him,

American Standard Version
Now the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Jehovah troubled him.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And The Spirit of God departed from Shaul, and an evil spirit from before LORD JEHOVAH was consuming him

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

Contemporary English Version
The Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD was terrifying him.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.

English Revised Version
Now the spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Now, the LORD's Spirit had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

Good News Translation
The LORD's spirit left Saul, and an evil spirit sent by the LORD tormented him.

International Standard Version
The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Now the spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrified him.

Literal Standard Version
And the Spirit of YHWH turned aside from Saul, and a spirit of sadness from YHWH terrified him;

Majority Standard Bible
After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him.

New American Bible
The spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and he was tormented by an evil spirit from the LORD.

NET Bible
Now the Spirit of the LORD had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

New Revised Standard Version
Now the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

New Heart English Bible
Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

Webster's Bible Translation
But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

World English Bible
Now Yahweh’s Spirit departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh troubled him.

Young's Literal Translation
And the Spirit of Jehovah turned aside from Saul, and a spirit of sadness from Jehovah terrified him;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
David Serves Saul
14After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him. 15Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely a spirit of distress from God is tormenting you.…

Cross References
Judges 9:23
God sent a spirit of animosity between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem and caused them to treat Abimelech deceitfully,

Judges 16:20
Then she called out, "Samson, the Philistines are here!" When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, "I will escape as I did before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

1 Samuel 11:6
When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he burned with great anger.

1 Samuel 16:15
Saul's servants said to him, "Surely a spirit of distress from God is tormenting you.

1 Samuel 16:16
Let our lord command your servants here to seek out someone who can skillfully play the harp. Whenever the spirit of distress from God is upon you, he is to play it, and you will be well."

1 Samuel 16:23
And whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would pick up his harp and play, and Saul would become well, and the spirit of distress would depart from him.

1 Samuel 18:10
The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear,


Treasury of Scripture

But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

the Spirit

1 Samuel 11:6
And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.

1 Samuel 18:12
And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.

1 Samuel 28:15
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

1 Samuel 18:10
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.

1 Samuel 19:9,10
And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand…

Judges 9:23
Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:

troubled.

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Departed Evil Sadness Saul Spirit Terrified Terrorized Tormented Troubled Troubling Turned
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Departed Evil Sadness Saul Spirit Terrified Terrorized Tormented Troubled Troubling Turned
1 Samuel 16
1. Samuel sent by God, under pretense of a sacrifice, comes to Bethlehem
6. His human judgment is reproved
11. He anoints David
15. Saul sends for David to quiet his evil spirit














Verses 14, 15. - From this time forward David is the central figure of the history. Saul has been rejected, and though, as being the actual king, he must still play his part, more especially as his decline goes on side by side with David s growth in every kingly quality, yet the record of it is no longer given on Saul's account. Interesting, then, as may be the information concerning the mental malady with which Saul was visited, yet the object of this section is to acquaint us with the manner in which David was first brought into connection with him. From the description given of David in ver. 1 Samuel 16:18 it is evident that there has been a considerable interval of time between this and the previous section. David is no longer a child, but a "mighty valiant man." The connection is ethical, and lies in the contrasted moral state of the two men, as shown in the two parallel statements: "the Spirit of Jehovah came upon David;" "the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul." There was a gradual decline and debasement of his character; and as David grew from a child into a hero in war and a scholar in peace, so Saul, from being a hero, degenerated into a moody and resentful tyrant. An evil spirit from Jehovah troubled him. Really, as in the margin, terrified him; that is, Saul became subject to fits of intense mental agony, under which his reason gave way, and temporary insanity, accompanied by outbreaks of violence, came on. It is very difficult for us with our richer language to give the exact force of the Hebrew; for the word rendered spirit is literally wind, air, breath. A student of Hebrew can trace the word ruach through all its modifications, from its physical signification as the material wind, to its metaphysical meaning as an influence from God; and then still onward up to the beings who minister before God, and of whom the Psalmist says, "He maketh his angels to be winds" (Psalm 104:4); till finally we reach up unto the third person of the blessed Trinity: and then, as with this full knowledge of the Divine nature we read backward, we find the presence of the Holy Ghost indicated, where to the Israelite probably there was mention only of a material agency. Jost, in his 'History of the Jews since the time of the Maccabees,' vol. 1. p. 12, says that Saul suffered under that form of madness called hypochondria, and that the Jews gave this the name of bad air, the words translated here "evil spirit;" for they held, he says, that "the devil inhabited the air." So St. Paul speaks of the "wicked spiritual beings that are in high places," i.e. in the loftier regions of the atmosphere (Ephesians 6:12). A study of Saul's character makes it probable that, as is often the case with men of brilliant genius, there was always a touch of insanity in his mental constitution. His joining in the exercises of the prophets (1 Samuel 10:10-12) was an outburst of eccentric enthusiasm; and the excitement of his behaviour in the occurrences narrated in ch. 14. indicate a mind that might easily be thrown off its balance. And now he seems to have brooded over his deposition by Samuel, and instead of repenting to have regarded himself as an ill-used man, and given himself up to despondency, until he became a prey to melancholy, and his mind was overclouded. His servants rightly regarded this as a Divine punishment, but their words are remarkable. Behold, an evil spirit from God terrifieth thee. And so again, in ver. 16, the evil spirit from God, as if they were unwilling to ascribe to Jehovah, their covenant Deity, the sending of this evil "influence," while rightly they saw that evil as well as good must come from the Almighty, inasmuch as all things are in his hand, and whatever is must be by his permission. The writer of the book has no such scruples; he calls it "an evil spirit from Jehovah," because it was Jehovah, their own theocratic King, who had dethroned Saul, and withdrawn from him his blessing and protection.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
After the Spirit
וְר֧וּחַ (wə·rū·aḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - common singular construct
Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit

of the LORD
יְהוָ֛ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

had departed
סָ֖רָה (sā·rāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5493: To turn aside

from
מֵעִ֣ם (mê·‘im)
Preposition-m
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

Saul,
שָׁא֑וּל (šā·’ūl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

a spirit
רֽוּחַ־ (rū·aḥ-)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit

of distress
רָעָ֖ה (rā·‘āh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

from
מֵאֵ֥ת (mê·’êṯ)
Preposition-m | Direct object marker
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

the LORD
יְהוָֽה׃ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

began to torment him.
וּבִֽעֲתַ֥תּוּ (ū·ḇi·‘ă·ṯat·tū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1204: To fall upon, startle, terrify


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OT History: 1 Samuel 16:14 Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 16:13
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