1 Samuel 16:15 (YLT)

Passage

and the servants of Saul say unto him, `Lo, we pray thee, a spirit of sadness <FI>from<Fi> God is terrifying thee;

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 16:13 And Samuel taketh the horn of oil, and anointeth him in the midst of his brethren, and prosper over David doth the Spirit of Jehovah from that day and onwards; and Samuel riseth and goeth to Ramath.

1 Samuel 16:14 And the Spirit of Jehovah turned aside from Saul, and a spirit of sadness from Jehovah terrified him;

1 Samuel 16:15 and the servants of Saul say unto him, `Lo, we pray thee, a spirit of sadness <FI>from<Fi> God is terrifying thee;

1 Samuel 16:16 let our lord command, we pray thee, thy servants before thee, they seek a skilful man, playing on a harp, and it hath come to pass, in the spirit of sadness <FI>from<Fi> God being upon thee, that he hath played with his hand, and <FI> it is<Fi> well with thee.'

1 Samuel 16:17 And Saul saith unto his servants, `Provide, I pray you, for me a man playing well--then ye have brought <FI>him<Fi> in unto me.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "servants", "saul", "pray", "thee", "sadness", and "terrifying". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "servants", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "And the Spirit of Jehovah turned aside..." into verse 16's "let our lord command we pray thee...", so "Spirit" and "servants" 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 "servants" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.