1 Samuel 16:1-9

1 And the Lord said to Samuel, How long bewailest thou Saul, since I have cast him away, that he reign not upon Israel(?); fill thine horn with oil, and come, that I send thee to Jesse of Bethlehem; for among his sons I have purveyed a king to me (for I have chosen myself a king from among his sons).

2 And Samuel said, How shall I go? for Saul shall hear (of it), and he shall slay me. And the Lord said, Thou shalt take a calf of the drove in thy hand (Thou shalt take a calf from the herd with thee), and thou shalt say, I came to make sacrifice to the Lord.

3 And thou shalt call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I shall show to thee (and I shall tell thee), what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint whomever I shall show to thee.

4 Then Samuel did, as the Lord spake to him; and he came into Bethlehem, and the elder men of the city wondered, and came to him, and said, Whether thine entry be peaceable? (Hast thou come in peace?/Is all well?)

5 And he said, It is peaceable; I came to make sacrifice to the Lord; be ye hallowed, and come ye with me, that I make sacrifice. Therefore he hallowed Jesse, and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. (And he said, Yea, I have come in peace/all is well; I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord; be ye hallowed, and then come ye with me, and make ye also the sacrifice. Then he hallowed Jesse, and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.)

6 And when they had entered, he saw Eliab, and said, in his heart, Whether before the Lord is his christ? (Is this the Lord's anointed?)

7 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold thou not his cheer (Look thou not at his face), neither the highness of his stature; for I have cast him away, and I deem not by man's sight; for man seeth those things that be open, but the Lord beholdeth the heart.

8 And Jesse called Abinadab, and brought him before Samuel; and he said, Neither the Lord hath chosen this (and he said, The Lord hath not chosen this man either).

9 And Jesse brought forth Shammah; of whom Samuel said, Also the Lord hath not chosen this (man).

1 Samuel 16:1-9 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.