1 Samuel 16:17 (KJV)

Passage

And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 16:15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

1 Samuel 16:16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

1 Samuel 16:17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.

1 Samuel 16:18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.

1 Samuel 16:19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saul", "said", "servants", "provide", "play", "well", and "bring". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saul" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Let our lord now command thy servants..." into verse 18's "Then answered one of the servants and...", so "saul" and "said" belong inside that flow. In 1 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "saul" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.