1 Samuel 16:12 (ASV)

Passage

And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look upon. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 16:10 And Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Jehovah hath not chosen these.

1 Samuel 16:11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he come hither.

1 Samuel 16:12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look upon. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.

1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

1 Samuel 16:14 Now the Spirit of Jehovah departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Jehovah troubled him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sent", "brought", "ruddy", "withal", "beautiful", "countenance", "goodly", and "look". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sent" and "brought", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And Samuel said unto Jesse Are here..." into verse 13's "Then Samuel took the horn of oil...", so "sent" and "brought" 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 "sent" and "brought" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.