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.”

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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

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

139 Lord, You have (A)searched me and known me.
You (B)know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I get up;
You (C)understand my thought from far away.
You [c](D)scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
[e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You (E)know it all.
You have (F)encircled me behind and in front,
And (G)placed Your hand upon me.
Such (H)knowledge is (I)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.

(J)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
(K)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, (L)You are there.
If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will (M)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (N)darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even (O)darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(P)Darkness and light are alike to You.

13 For You (Q)created my innermost parts;
You (R)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, because [i]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
(S)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [j](T)frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the (U)depths of the earth;
16 Your (V)eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in (W)Your book were written
All the (X)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

17 How precious also are Your (Y)thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would (Z)outnumber the sand.
When (AA)I awake, I am still with You.

19 If only You would (AB)put the wicked to death, God;
(AC)Leave me, (AD)you men of bloodshed.
20 For they (AE)speak [k]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [l](AF)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (AG)hate those who hate You, Lord?
And do I not (AH)loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

23 (AI)Search me, God, and know my heart;
(AJ)Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there is any [m](AK)hurtful way in me,
And (AL)lead me in the (AM)everlasting way.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 139:2 Lit my sitting
  2. Psalm 139:2 Lit my rising
  3. Psalm 139:3 Lit winnow
  4. Psalm 139:3 Or journeying
  5. Psalm 139:4 Lit For there is not
  6. Psalm 139:8 I.e., the netherworld
  7. Psalm 139:11 Lit bruise; some commentators cover
  8. Psalm 139:12 Lit from
  9. Psalm 139:14 Some ancient versions You are fearfully wonderful
  10. Psalm 139:15 Lit bones were
  11. Psalm 139:20 Or of
  12. Psalm 139:20 Some mss lift themselves up against You
  13. Psalm 139:24 Lit way of pain

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