1 Samuel 16:7

16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by¹ his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do.² People look on the outward appearance,³ but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:1

Samuel Anoints David as King

16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel.⁴ Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem,⁵ for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons.”⁶

1 Samuel 8:17-18

8:17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his servants. 8:18 In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you in that day.”⁷

1 Samuel 8:1

Israel Seeks a King

8:1 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

1 Samuel 22:7

22:7 Saul said to his servants who were stationed around him, “Listen up, you Benjaminites! Is Jesse’s son giving fields and vineyards to all of you? Or is he making all of you⁸ commanders and officers?⁹

1 Samuel 28:2

28:2 David replied to Achish, “That being the case, you will come to know what your servant can do!” Achish said to David, “Then I will make you my bodyguard¹⁰ from now on.”¹¹

Psalms 20:4

20:4 May he grant your heart’s desire;¹²

may he bring all your plans to pass!¹³

Psalms 37:4

37:4 Then you will take delight in the Lord,¹⁴

and he will answer your prayers.¹⁵

¹tn Heb “don’t look toward.”

²tn Heb “for not that which the man sees.” The translation follows the LXX, which reads, “for not as man sees does God see.” The MT has suffered from homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 274.

³tn Heb “to the eyes.”

⁴tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And the Lord said to Samuel.”

⁵map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

⁶tn Heb “for I have seen among his sons for me a king.”

⁷tc The LXX adds “because you have chosen for yourselves a king.”

⁸tc The MT has “to all of you.” If this reading is correct, we have here an example of a prepositional phrase functioning as the equivalent of a dative of advantage, which is not impossible from a grammatical point of view. However, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have “and.” A conjunction rather than a preposition should probably be read on the front of this phrase.

⁹tn Heb “officers of a thousand and officers of a hundred.”

¹⁰tn Heb “the guardian for my head.”

¹¹tn Heb “all the days.”

¹²tn Heb “may he give to you according to your heart.” This probably refers to the king’s prayer for protection and victory in battle. See vv. 5-6.

¹³sn May he bring all your plans to pass. This probably refers to the king’s strategy for battle.

¹⁴tn Following the imperatives of v. 3 the prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) in v. 4 indicate result. Faith and obedience (v. 3) will bring divine blessing (v. 4).

¹⁵tn Or “and he will give you what you desire most.” Heb “and he will grant to you the requests of your heart.”