1 Samuel 16:4-5

16:4 Samuel did what the Lord told him. ¹  When he arrived in Bethlehem, ²  the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They ³  said, “Do you come in peace?” 16:5 He replied, “Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” So he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

[16:4]  ¹ tn Heb “said.”

[16:4]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[16:4]  ³ tc In the MT the verb is singular (“he said”), but the translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss and ancient versions in reading the plural (“they said”).