1 Samuel 16:6-9

16:6 When they arrived, Samuel ¹  noticed ²  Eliab and said to himself, ³  “Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!” ⁴  16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by ⁵  his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. ⁶  People look on the outward appearance, ⁷  but the Lord looks at the heart.”

16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. ⁸  But Samuel ⁹  said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” 16:9 Then Jesse presented ¹⁰  Shammah. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”

[16:6]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:6]  ² tn Heb “saw.”

[16:6]  ³ tn Heb “said”; the words “to himself” are implied, given the secrecy surrounding Samuel’s mission to Bethlehem (v. 2).

[16:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “his anointed one.”

[16:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “don’t look toward.”

[16:7]  ⁶ tn 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.

[16:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “to the eyes.”

[16:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “and caused him to pass before.”

[16:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “he” (also in v. 9); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “caused to pass by.”