1 Samuel 16:16 (DRB)

Passage

Let our lord give orders, and thy servants who are before thee, will seek out a man skilful in playing on the harp, that when the evil spirit from the Lord is upon thee, he may play with his hand, and thou mayst bear it more easily.

Nearby Context

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

1 Samuel 16:15 And the servants of Saul said to him: Behold now an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

1 Samuel 16:16 Let our lord give orders, and thy servants who are before thee, will seek out a man skilful in playing on the harp, that when the evil spirit from the Lord is upon thee, he may play with his hand, and thou mayst bear it more easily.

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

1 Samuel 16:18 And one of the servants answering, said: Behold I have seen a son of Isai, the Bethlehemite, a skilful player, and one of great strength, and a man fit for war, and prudent in his words, and a comely person: and the Lord is with him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "lord", "give", "orders", "servants", "before", "thee", and "seek". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And the servants of Saul said to..." into verse 17's "And Saul said to his servants Provide...", so "Spirit" and "lord" 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 "Spirit" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.