1 Samuel 16:5
in 1 Samuel 16“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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Peaceably; I am come to sacrifice unto Jehovah: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
KJV
And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 16
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice
on 1 Samuel 16:3-5
Samuel is told only what the next step requires, to invite Jesse to the sacrifice and anoint "the one I indicate" when the time comes. The elders of Bethlehem tremble at his coming, a small town’s fear of a prophet arriving unannounced, and Samuel answers that he comes in peace to sacrifice. Jesse and his sons are consecrated for the feast before any of them knows why.
This site's exposition
Consecrate yourselves and come with me
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read Samuel's call to consecrate by Exodus 19:14 and 15, where Israel prepared to meet God at Sinai. Adam Clarke adds washing in pure water and a mind prepared by prayer before the sacrifice. Samuel saw to Jesse and his sons himself.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church4 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 3 · Written before 604.
proposed
10. Those who direct their intention toward heavenly things go with the doctors to offer sacrifice. And the prophet sacrifices before those who go, when the doctor binds in the hearts of those present through love what he proclaims by word. But that we may attend a little to the historical sense, we must carefully examine what is said: "Sanctify yourselves and come with me." For if they do not dare to be present at the sacrifice unless sanctified, what must we think of those who sacrifice? For to sanctify is to purify. How pure, then, ought the priests to be, where the people invited to the sacrifice are not to be admitted unless sanctified? For the sanctification of the body is chastity, and the sanctification of the mind is charity and humility. Let the one invited to the sacrifice therefore be sanctified, but he who invites is all the more compelled to be so. Let the priests note what they say to those invited: "Come with me." For the sanctified come with them if pure priests approach the service of God together with pure people. For to go with them is for the pure to approach together with the pure. For if the people are pure but the priests are not pure, they do not come with them, because they do not approach in an equal order of purity. Let such ones hear what another prophet admonishes, saying: "Be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord" (Isaiah 52:11). Let them likewise hear what he says: "Wash yourselves, be clean" (Isaiah 1:16). […]
I have come to sacrifice to the Lord, etc. That is, I have come to teach and suffer for the Lord; be baptized and believe with me, so that we may live together in Christ.
Therefore, he sanctified Jesse and his sons, etc. He sanctified them all, but anointed David alone with the oil of chrism; because the Church has many members, but one head. John baptized many, but the dove descended upon one.
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 3 · Written before 604.
proposed
27. What is it for a priest to sacrifice, except to join the hearts of the elect to our Redeemer through love? As if he were saying: You wish to know whether he has come, but it does not profit to be known unless it profits to be loved. I have come therefore to sacrifice to the Lord. Hence it is that Paul expels those in whom he could not sacrifice, saying: "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema" (1 Cor. 16:22).
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
29 , where we read of the sacrifices that family had) that it was a devout religious family. Samuel assisted them in their family preparations for the public sacrifice, and, it is probable, chose out David, and anointed him, at the family-solemnities, before the sacrifice was offered or the holy feast solemnized.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he said, peaceably I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
sanctify yourselves--by the preparations described (Ex 19:14, 15). The elders were to sanctify themselves. Samuel himself took the greatest care in the sanctification of Jesse's family.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Sanctify yourselves - Change your clothes, and wash your bodies in pure water, and prepare your minds by meditation, reflection, and prayer; that, being in the spirit of sacrifice, ye may offer acceptably to the Lord.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁל֗וֹם | shalom | peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| לִזְבֹּ֤חַ | lizboach | to sacrifice | H2076 → | 134 times |
| לַֽיהוָה֙ | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בָּ֔אתִי | bati | I have come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הִֽתְקַדְּשׁ֔וּ | hitkadeshu | consecrate yourselves | H6942 → | 171 times |
| וּבָאתֶ֥ם | uvatem | and you will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אִתִּ֖י | ʾiti | with me | H854 → | 929 times |
| בַּזָּ֑בַח | bazavach | at the sacrifice | H2077 → | 162 times |
| וַיְקַדֵּ֤שׁ | vaykadesh | and he consecrated | H6942 → | 171 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשַׁי֙ | yishai | Jesse | H3448 → | 42 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בָּנָ֔יו | banav | sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֥א | vaiyikra' | and he invited | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | <to> <the> them | ||
| לַזָּֽבַח׃ | lazavach | to the sacrifice | H2077 → | 162 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁל֗וֹםpeace
shalomH7965 →236 times
לִזְבֹּ֤חַto sacrifice
lizboachH2076 →134 times
לַֽיהוָה֙to Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
בָּ֔אתִיI have come
batiH935 →2568 times
הִֽתְקַדְּשׁ֔וּconsecrate yourselves
hitkadeshuH6942 →171 times
וּבָאתֶ֥םand you will come
uvatemH935 →2568 times
אִתִּ֖יwith me
ʾitiH854 →929 times
בַּזָּ֑בַחat the sacrifice
bazavachH2077 →162 times
וַיְקַדֵּ֤שׁand he consecrated
vaykadeshH6942 →171 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשַׁי֙Jesse
yishaiH3448 →42 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בָּנָ֔יוsons his
banavH1121 →4930 times
וַיִּקְרָ֥אand he invited
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
לָהֶ֖ם<to> <the> them
lahem
לַזָּֽבַח׃to the sacrifice
lazavachH2077 →162 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 11:28Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
it leads to
- Galatians 6:4
Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else.
- 2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you actually fail the test?
- Lamentations 3:40
Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD.
- Galatians 6:4
Through
Joshua 3:5Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
it leads to
- Joshua 7:13
Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot…
- Leviticus 20:7
Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
- Joel 2:16
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the aged, gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.
- John 17:19
For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.
- Joshua 7:13
Through
Exodus 19:10Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- Hebrews 10:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.