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.”
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.
- BSB 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.”
- 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.”
- 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“Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He will save my people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon my people, because their cry has come to me.”
- 1 Sam 16:12–13He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with a handsome face and good appearance. Yahweh said, “Arise! Anoint him, for this is he.”
- 2 Sam 15:11Two hundred men went with Absalom out of Jerusalem, who were invited, and went in their simplicity; and they didn’t know anything.
- Acts 9:6But rise up, and enter into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
- Exod 4:15You shall speak to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do.
- Deut 17:14–15When you have come to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and possess it, and dwell in it, and say, “I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me”;
- 1 Sam 9:12–13They answered them, and said, “He is. Behold, he is before you. Hurry now, for he has come today into the city; for the people have a sacrifice today in the high place.
- Matt 22:1–4Jesus answered and spoke again in parables to them, saying,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.