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.” ² 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.’ ³ 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.” ⁴ 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?” ⁵ 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.

⁶ When they entered, he looked at ^(L)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is standing before Him.” ⁷ 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.” ⁸ Then Jesse called ^(N)Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel. But he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” ⁹ 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.”