1 Samuel 16:21 (KJV)

Passage

And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.

Nearby Context

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

1 Samuel 16:20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.

1 Samuel 16:21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.

1 Samuel 16:22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.

1 Samuel 16:23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "david", "came", "saul", "stood", "before", "loved", "greatly", and "became". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "david" and "came", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And Jesse took an ass laden with..." into verse 22's "And Saul sent to Jesse saying Let...", so "david" and "came" 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 "david" and "came" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.