Samuel Goes to Bethlehem

16 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “(A)How long are you going to mourn for [a]Saul, since (B)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? (C)Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to (D)Jesse the Bethlehemite, because I have (E)chosen a king for Myself among his sons.” But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” But the Lord said, “(F)Take a heifer [b]with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and (G)I will let you know what you shall do; and (H)you shall anoint for Me the one whom I [c]designate to you.” So Samuel did what the Lord told him, and he came to (I)Bethlehem. Then the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “(J)Do you come in peace?” And he said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. (K)Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they entered, he looked at (L)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lords anointed is standing before Him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for [d]God does not see as man sees, since man looks at [e]the outward appearance, (M)but the Lord looks at the heart.” Then Jesse called (N)Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel. But he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” Next Jesse had [f](O)Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” 10 So Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 16:1 I.e., God’s rejection of Saul
  2. 1 Samuel 16:2 Lit by your hand
  3. 1 Samuel 16:3 Lit say to you
  4. 1 Samuel 16:7 As in LXX; MT, He does not see what man sees
  5. 1 Samuel 16:7 Lit the eyes; or what is before the eyes
  6. 1 Samuel 16:9 In 2 Sam 13:3, Shimeah; in 1 Chr 2:13, Shimea

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