1 Samuel 16:10 (DBY)

Passage

And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, Jehovah has not chosen these.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has Jehovah chosen this one.

1 Samuel 16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Neither has Jehovah chosen this one.

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

1 Samuel 16:11 And Samuel said to Jesse, Are these all the young men? And he said, There is yet the youngest remaining, and behold, he is feeding the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit at table till he come hither.

1 Samuel 16:12 And he sent and brought him in. And he was ruddy, and besides of a lovely countenance and beautiful appearance. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesse", "seven", "sons", "pass", "before", "samuel", and "said". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesse" and "seven", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "Then Jesse made Shammah pass by And..." into verse 11's "And Samuel said to Jesse Are these...", so "jesse" and "seven" 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 "seven" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.