1 Samuel 16:14 (LSB)

Passage

Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh terrorized him.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 16:12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And Yahweh said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”

1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

1 Samuel 16:14 Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh terrorized him.

1 Samuel 16:15 Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you.

1 Samuel 16:16 Let our lord now speak to your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "yahweh", "departed", "saul", "evil", and "terrorized". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "yahweh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Then Samuel took the horn of oil..." into verse 15's "Saul s servants then said to him...", so "Spirit" and "yahweh" 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 "yahweh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.