Berean Standard Bible
1 Samuel 16:4
4So Samuel did what the LORD had said and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?”
1 Samuel 16:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Beth–lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?
- New International Version (NIV)Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, "Do you come peaceably?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
Context of 1 Samuel 16:4
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.” So Samuel did what the LORD had said and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?” 5“In peace,” he replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Surely here before the LORD is His anointed.”
Read all of 1 Samuel 161 Samuel 16:4 word by word
וַיַּ֣עַשׂ שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל אֵ֚ת אֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבֶּ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה וַיָּבֹ֖א בֵּ֣ית לָ֑חֶם וַיֶּחֶרְד֞וּ זִקְנֵ֤י הָעִיר֙ לִקְרָאת֔וֹ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר שָׁלֹ֥ם בּוֹאֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear
- So Samuelשְׁמוּאֵלshemû'êl · SamuelH8050
- ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
- didעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- whatאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- had saidדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- and wentבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- to Bethlehemבֵּית לֶ֫חֶםbêyth lechem · BethlehemH1035
- When the eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
- of the townעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- met himקָרָאqârâ' · to encounter: meetH7122
- they trembledחָרַדchârad · to trembleH2729
- and askedאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- in peaceשָׁלוֹםshâlôm shâlôm · peaceH7965
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 16:4
- 1 Samuel 21:1Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And when Ahimelech met David, he trembled and asked him, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
- 2 Samuel 6:9That day David feared the LORD and asked, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?”
- 1 Kings 17:18“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
- Hosea 6:5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning.
- Hosea 11:10They will walk after the LORD; He will roar like a lion. When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west.
- Luke 5:8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.”
- Luke 8:37Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to depart from them, because great fear had taken hold of them. So He got into the boat and started back.
- 1 Kings 2:13Now Adonijah son of Haggith went to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, and she asked, “Do you come in peace?” “Yes, in peace,” he replied.
- 2 Kings 9:22When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” he replied, “as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”
- 1 Chronicles 12:17And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 16:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The elders of the town trembled at his coming - They knew he was a prophet of the Lord, and they were afraid that he was now come to denounce some judgments of the Most High against their city.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Trembled - There was evidently something unusual in Samuel‘s coming to Bethlehem; and the elders, knowing that Samuel was no longer at friendship with Saul, foreboded some evil.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The elders … trembled: The elders were afraid because news had likely reached Bethlehem that Samuel had rebuked Saul and put Agag to death.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. the elders of the town trembled at his coming--Beth-lehem was an obscure town, and not within the usual circuit of the judge. The elders were naturally apprehensive, therefore, that his arrival was occasioned by some extraordinary reason, and that it might entail evil upon their town, in consequence of the estrangement between Samuel and the king.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 16:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Berean Standard Bible — © Berean Bible — CC0 / Public Domain
Commentaries