1 Samuel 16:7 (LSB)

Passage

But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.”

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 16:5 And he said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Set yourselves apart as holy and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also set apart Jesse and his sons as holy and invited them to the sacrifice.

1 Samuel 16:6 Now it happened, when they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the anointed of Yahweh is before Him.”

1 Samuel 16:7 But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one either.”

1 Samuel 16:9 Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one either.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "yahweh", "said", "samuel", "look", "appearance", "height", "stature", and "rejected". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "yahweh" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Now it happened when they entered he..." into verse 8's "Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him...", so "yahweh" and "said" 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 "yahweh" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.