1 Samuel 16:3

3 "You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and ¹I will show you what you shall do; and ²you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you."

1 Samuel 16:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 16:3

And call Jesse to the sacrifice
His family, both him and his sons, to partake of the peace offerings; as every offerer had a right to invite his friends, and whomsoever he pleased, to eat of those parts of them which belonged to him, as a feast before the Lord:

and I will show thee what thou shall do;
when Jesse and his family were with him:

and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee;
that is, anoint him to be king over Israel, whom he should point out so plainly to him, as if he called him by name.

1 Samuel 16:3 In-Context

1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons."

2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD .'

3 "You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you."

4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, "Do you come in peace?"

5 He said, "In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD . Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 4:15; Acts 9:6
• 2. Deuteronomy 17:14, 15; 1 Samuel 9:16

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "say to you"