1 Samuel 16:2
New International Version
But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

New Living Translation
But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” “Take a heifer with you,” the LORD replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the LORD.

English Standard Version
And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

Berean Standard Bible
“How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

King James Bible
And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

New King James Version
And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” But the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

New American Standard Bible
But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” But the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

NASB 1995
But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

NASB 1977
But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

Legacy Standard Bible
But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear of it and will kill me.” Then Yahweh said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.’

Amplified Bible
But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer from the herd with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

Christian Standard Bible
Samuel asked, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me! ” The LORD answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Samuel asked, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

American Standard Version
And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And Jehovah said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Shemueil said: “How will I go? Shaul will hear and he will kill me!” And LORD JEHOVAH said to Shemueil: “Take A calf of an ox with your hand and say, ‘To sacrifice to LORD JEHOVAH I have come’

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Samuel said, How can I go? whereas Saul will hear of it, and slay me: and the Lord said, Take a heifer in thine hand and thou shall say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.

Contemporary English Version
Samuel answered, "If I do that, Saul will find out and have me killed." "Take a calf with you," the LORD replied. "Tell everyone that you've come to offer it as a sacrifice to me,

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Samuel said: How shall I go? for Saul will hear of it, and he will kill me. And the Lord said: Thou shalt take with thee a calf of the herd, and thou shalt say: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.

English Revised Version
And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"How can I go?" Samuel asked. "When Saul hears about it, he'll kill me." The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I've come to sacrifice to the LORD.'

Good News Translation
"How can I do that?" Samuel asked. "If Saul hears about it, he will kill me!" The LORD answered, "Take a calf with you and say that you are there to offer a sacrifice to the LORD.

International Standard Version
Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about this and kill me!" The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I've come to offer a sacrifice to the LORD.'

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Samuel said: 'How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me.' And the LORD said: 'Take a heifer with thee, and say: I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

Literal Standard Version
And Samuel says, “How do I go? When Saul has heard, then he has slain me.” And YHWH says, “You take a heifer of the herd in your hand, and have said, I have come to sacrifice to YHWH;

Majority Standard Bible
“How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

New American Bible
But Samuel replied: “How can I go? Saul will hear of it and kill me.” To this the LORD answered: Take a heifer along and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.”

NET Bible
Samuel replied, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!" But the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.'

New Revised Standard Version
Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

New Heart English Bible
Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul shall hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.

World English Bible
Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” Yahweh said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.’

Young's Literal Translation
And Samuel saith, 'How do I go? when Saul hath heard, then he hath slain me.' And Jehovah saith, 'A heifer of the herd thou dost take in thy hand, and hast said, To sacrifice to Jehovah I have come;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Samuel Anoints David
1Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.” 2“How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate.”…

Cross References
1 Samuel 20:29
saying, 'Please let me go, because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me go and see my brothers.' That is why he did not come to the king's table."

1 Samuel 16:3
Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate."


Treasury of Scripture

And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with you, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

How can I go

Exodus 3:11
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

1 Kings 18:9-14
And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? …

Matthew 10:16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

with thee [heb] in thine hand

1 Samuel 9:12
And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place:

I am come

1 Samuel 9:12
And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place:

1 Samuel 20:29
And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table.

Jeremiah 38:26,27
Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there…

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1 Samuel 16
1. Samuel sent by God, under pretense of a sacrifice, comes to Bethlehem
6. His human judgment is reproved
11. He anoints David
15. Saul sends for David to quiet his evil spirit














(2) He will kill me.--The unhappy mental malady of Saul must have made rapid progress. The jealous king was indeed changed from the Saul who even, in his self-willed rebellion against the Lord, was careful to pay honour to Samuel. But now the aged prophet felt that if he crossed the king's path in any way, even in carrying out the commands of the invisible King of Israel, his life would be forfeited to the fierce anger of Saul.

Take an heifer with thee.--And the Divine voice instructed Samuel how he should proceed. There was to be as yet no public anointing of the successor to Saul, only the future king must be sought out, and quietly, but solemnly, set apart for service before the Lord, and then watched over and carefully trained for his high office.

Verse 2. - And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. Saul was actually king, and the anointing of another in his stead would be regarded as an act of open treason, and the stirring up of civil war. This was not indeed intended. The anointing of David was a prophetic indication of the man whom God, in his own way and at his own time,would place upon Saul's throne, without either scheming or action thereto on the part either of Samuel or of David. Its value would chiefly lie in the careful training he would receive from Samuel; but when David was king, it would also greatly strengthen his position; for it would be known that from his boyhood he had been marked out for his high office. Never did man mount a throne with purer hands than David; and if Saul would have permitted it, he would have been a faithful and loyal servant to the last. It was Saul really who thrust the kingdom upon David. As regards Samuel's fears, headstrong as Saul was, he owed too much to the prophet to have put]aim to death; but he would have visited the act upon Jesse and his family with revengeful violence, and Samuel would henceforward have lost all freedom of action, even if he were not cast into prison, or banished from the land. God therefore commands him to take an heifer with him, and say, I am come to sacrifice to Jehovah. The question has been asked, Was there in this any duplicity? In answer we may ask another question: Is it always necessary, or even right, to tell in all cases the whole truth? If so, quarrels and ill-feeling would be multiplied to such an extent that social life would be unendurable. All charitable, well disposed persons suppress much, and keep a guard over their lips, lest they should stir up strife and hatred. Now here there was to be no treason, no inciting to civil war. David, still a child, was to be set apart for a high destiny, possibly without at the time fully knowing what the anointing meant, and certainly with the obligation to take no step whatsoever towards winning the crown that was to descend upon his head. This was his probation, and he bore the trial nobly. And what right would Samuel have had, not merely to compel David to be a traitor, but to place Jesse and his family in a position of danger and difficulty? To have anointed David publicly would have forced Jesse to an open rupture with the king, and he must have sought safety either by fighting for his life, or by breaking up his home, and fleeing into a foreign land. David in course of time had thus to seek an asylum for his parents (1 Samuel 22:3, 4), but it was through no fault of his own, for he always remained true to his allegiance. Even when David was being hunted for his life, he made no appeal to Samuel's anointing, but it remained, what it was ever intended to be, a secret sign and declaration to him of God's preordained purpose, but of one as to which he was to take no step to bring about its fulfilment. It was a pledge to David, and nothing but misery would have resulted from its being prematurely made known to those who had no right to know it. God wraps up the flower, which is in due time to open and bear fruit, within many a covering; and to rend these open prematurely is to destroy the flower and the fruit that is to spring from it. And so to have anointed David openly, and to have made him understand the meaning of the act, would have been to destroy David and frustrate the Divine purpose.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“How
אֵ֣יךְ (’êḵ)
Interjection
Strong's 349: How?, how!, where

can I go?”
אֵלֵ֔ךְ (’ê·lêḵ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

Samuel
שְׁמוּאֵל֙ (šə·mū·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8050: Samuel -- 'name of God', a prophet of Israel

asked.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Saul
שָׁא֖וּל (šā·’ūl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

will hear of it
וְשָׁמַ֥ע (wə·šā·ma‘)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

and kill me!”
וַהֲרָגָ֑נִי (wa·hă·rā·ḡā·nî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 2026: To smite with deadly intent

The LORD
יְהוָ֗ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

answered,
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Take
תִּקַּ֣ח (tiq·qaḥ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

a heifer
בָּקָר֙ (bā·qār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1241: Beef cattle, ox, a herd

with you
בְּיָדֶ֔ךָ (bə·yā·ḏe·ḵā)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand

and say,
וְאָ֣מַרְתָּ֔ (wə·’ā·mar·tā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

‘I have come
בָּֽאתִי׃ (bā·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to sacrifice
לִזְבֹּ֥חַ (liz·bō·aḥ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 2076: To slaughter for sacrifice

to the LORD.’
לַֽיהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel


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OT History: 1 Samuel 16:2 Samuel said How can I go? If (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 16:1
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