1 Samuel 16:4 (GNV)

Passage

So Samuel did that the Lord bade him, and came to Beth-lehem, and the Elders of the towne were astonied at his comming, and sayd, Commest thou peaceablie?

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 16:2 And Samuel sayde, Howe can I goe? for if Saul shall heare it, he will kill me. Then the Lord answered, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to doe sacrifice to the Lord.

1 Samuel 16:3 And call Ishai to the sacrifice, and I will shewe thee what thou shalt doe, and thou shalt anoynt vnto me him whom I name vnto thee.

1 Samuel 16:4 So Samuel did that the Lord bade him, and came to Beth-lehem, and the Elders of the towne were astonied at his comming, and sayd, Commest thou peaceablie?

1 Samuel 16:5 And he answeared, Yea: I am come to doe sacrifice vnto the Lord: sanctifie your selues, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Ishai and his sonnes, and called them to the sacrifice.

1 Samuel 16:6 And when they were come, hee looked on Eliab, and saide, Surely the Lordes Anointed is before him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "samuel", "lord", "bade", "came", "beth-lehem", "elders", "towne", and "astonied". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "samuel" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And call Ishai to the sacrifice and..." into verse 5's "And he answeared Yea I am come...", so "samuel" 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 "samuel" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.