1 Samuel 16:6 (GNV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said vnto Samuel, Looke not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature, because I haue refused him: for God seeth not as man seeth: for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord beholdeth the heart.

1 Samuel 16:8 Then Ishai called Abinadab, and made him come before Samuel. And he saide, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "come", "looked", "eliab", "saide", "surely", "lordes", "anointed", and "before". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "come" and "looked", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "And he answeared Yea I am come..." into verse 7's "But the Lord said vnto Samuel Looke...", so "come" and "looked" 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 "come" and "looked" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.