1 Samuel 16:7

16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by ¹  his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. ²  People look on the outward appearance, ³  but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:1

Samuel Anoints David as King

16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. ⁴  Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, ⁵  for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons.” ⁶ 

1 Tawarikh 29:17

29:17 I know, my God, that you examine thoughts ⁷  and are pleased with integrity. With pure motives ⁸  I contribute all this; and now I look with joy as your people who have gathered here contribute to you.

Mazmur 7:10

7:10 The Exalted God is my shield, ⁹ 

the one who delivers the morally upright. ¹⁰ 

Amsal 17:3

17:3 The crucible ¹¹  is for refining ¹²  silver and the furnace ¹³  is for gold,

likewise ¹⁴  the Lord tests ¹⁵  hearts.

Yeremia 11:20

11:20 So I said to the Lord, ¹⁶ 

“O Lord who rules over all, ¹⁷  you are a just judge!

You examine people’s hearts and minds. ¹⁸ 

I want to see you pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.” ¹⁹ 

Yeremia 2:23

2:23 “How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean.

I have not paid allegiance to ²⁰  the gods called Baal.’

Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! ²¹ 

Think about the things you have done there!

You are like a flighty, young female camel

that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path. ²² 

[16:7]  ¹ tn Heb “don’t look toward.”

[16:7]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “to the eyes.”

[16:1]  ⁴ tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And the Lord said to Samuel.”

[16:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[16:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “for I have seen among his sons for me a king.”

[29:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “a heart.”

[29:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “with integrity of heart.”

[7:10]  ⁹ tn Traditionally, “my shield is upon God” (cf. NASB). As in v. 8, עַל (’al) should be understood as a divine title, here compounded with “God” (cf. NIV, “God Most High”). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:45-46. The shield metaphor pictures God as a protector against deadly attacks.

[7:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).

[17:3]  ¹¹ sn The noun מַצְרֵף (matsref) means “a place or instrument for refining” (cf. ASV, NASB “the refining pot”). The related verb, which means “to melt, refine, smelt,” is used in scripture literally for refining and figuratively for the Lord’s purifying and cleansing and testing people.

[17:3]  ¹² tn The term “refining” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[17:3]  ¹³ sn The term כּוּר (cur) describes a “furnace” or “smelting pot.” It can be used figuratively for the beneficial side of affliction (Isa 48:10).

[17:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and.” Most English versions treat this as an adversative (“but”).

[17:3]  ¹⁵ sn The participle בֹּחֵן (bokhen, “tests”) in this emblematic parallelism takes on the connotations of the crucible and the furnace. When the Lord “tests” human hearts, the test, whatever form it takes, is designed to improve the value of the one being tested. Evil and folly will be removed when such testing takes place.

[11:20]  ¹⁶ tn The words “So I said to the Lord” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift in address.

[11:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[11:20]  sn For the significance of the term see the notes at 2:19 and 7:3.

[11:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Lord of armies, just judge, tester of kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style. In Hebrew thought the “kidneys” were thought of as the seat of the emotions and passions and the “heart” was viewed as the seat of intellect, conscience, and will. The “heart” and the “kidneys” are often used figuratively for the thoughts, emotions, motives, and drives that are thought to be seated in them.

[11:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Let me see your retribution [i.e., see you exact retribution] from them because I reveal my cause [i.e., plea for justice] to you.”

[2:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I have not gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for the meaning and usage of this idiom.

[2:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “Look at your way in the valley.” The valley is an obvious reference to the Valley of Hinnom where Baal and Molech were worshiped and child sacrifice was practiced.

[2:23]  ²² sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s lack of clear direction and purpose without the Lord’s control.