1 Samuel 16:2-12

2 And Samuel saith, `How do I go? when Saul hath heard, then he hath slain me.' And Jehovah saith, `A heifer of the herd thou dost take in thy hand, and hast said, To sacrifice to Jehovah I have come;
3 and thou hast called for Jesse in the sacrifice, and I cause thee to know that which thou dost do, and thou hast anointed to Me him of whom I speak unto thee.'
4 And Samuel doth that which Jehovah hath spoken, and cometh in to Beth-Lehem, and the elders of the city tremble to meet him, and [one] saith, `Is thy coming peace?'
5 and he saith, `Peace; to sacrifice to Jehovah I have come, sanctify yourselves, and ye have come in with me to the sacrifice;' and he sanctifieth Jesse and his sons, and calleth them to the sacrifice.
6 And it cometh to pass, in their coming in, that he seeth Eliab, and saith, `Surely, before Jehovah [is] His anointed.'
7 And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, `Look not unto his appearance, and unto the height of his stature, for I have rejected him; for [it is] not as man seeth -- for man looketh at the eyes, and Jehovah looketh at the heart.'
8 And Jesse calleth unto Abinadab, and causeth him to pass by before Samuel; and he saith, `Also on this Jehovah hath not fixed.'
9 And Jesse causeth Shammah to pass by, and he saith, `Also on this Jehovah hath not fixed.'
10 And Jesse causeth seven of his sons to pass by before Samuel, and Samuel saith to Jesse, `Jehovah hath not fixed on these.'
11 And Samuel saith unto Jesse, `Are the young men finished?' and he saith, `Yet hath been left the youngest; and lo, he delighteth himself among the flock;' and Samuel saith unto Jesse, `Send and take him, for we do not turn round till his coming in hither.'
12 And he sendeth, and bringeth him in, and he [is] ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and of good appearance; and Jehovah saith, `Rise, anoint him, for this [is] he.'

1 Samuel 16:2-12 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.

Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.