1 Samuel 16:1-10

1 And Jehovah said to Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons.
2 And Samuel said, How shall I go? if Saul hear [it], he will kill me. And Jehovah said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah.
3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will tell thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.
4 And Samuel did what Jehovah said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him, and said, Dost thou come peaceably?
5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah. Hallow yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he hallowed Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
6 And it came to pass when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely Jehovah's anointed is before him.
7 But Jehovah said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him; for it is not as man seeth; for man looketh upon the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh upon the heart.
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has Jehovah chosen this one.
9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Neither has Jehovah chosen this one.
10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, Jehovah has not chosen these.

1 Samuel 16:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 16

In this chapter Samuel is ordered to anoint a king among the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem, 1Sa 16:1-5 all whose sons were made to pass before him, excepting David, 1Sa 16:6-10 who being then with his father's sheep, was sent for and was anointed, 1Sa 16:11-13, after which the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and he became melancholy, and it was advised to seek out a musician for him, and David was mentioned to him as a proper person, 1Sa 16:14-18 upon which he was sent for, and acted as a musician to Saul, and also became his armourbearer, which was the first rise of him, 1Sa 16:19-23.

Footnotes 4

The Darby Translation is in the public domain.