1 Samuel 16:20 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 16:18 Then answered one of the young men, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skilful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war, and prudent in speech, and a comely person; and Jehovah is with him.

1 Samuel 16:19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, who 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 armorbearer.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesse", "took", "laden", "bread", "bottle", "wine", "sent", and "david". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesse" and "took", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse and..." into verse 21's "And David came to Saul and stood...", so "jesse" and "took" 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 "jesse" and "took" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.