Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint to me him whom I name to you.”
- KJV And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.
- NKJV Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”
- NASB And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you.”
- NLT Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God instructs Samuel to invite Jesse to the sacrifice and to anoint the one God will indicate. The choice of king rests entirely in God's hands.
Overview
Samuel is to act only as God directs, anointing the one God names rather than choosing by his own judgment. This emphasizes that the next king is God's selection, not a human pick. It sets up the lesson that God's criteria differ entirely from human appearances, revealed in verse 7.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Sam 9:16“At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him leader over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”
- 1 Sam 16:12–13So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.”
- 2 Sam 15:11Two hundred men from Jerusalem accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and they went along innocently, for they knew nothing about the matter.
- Acts 9:6“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
- Exod 4:15You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do.
- Deut 17:14–15When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”
- 1 Sam 9:12–13“Yes, he is ahead of you,” they answered. “Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place.
- Matt 22:1–4Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables:
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 16:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.