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1 Samuel 16:6–10

When they came, he looked on aEliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, b“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, cbut the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called dAbinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made dShammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”

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1 Samuel 16:6–10 — The New International Version (NIV)

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.”

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. 10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these.

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — New Living Translation (NLT)

When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the Lord has chosen.” Next Jesse summoned Shimea, but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the Lord has chosen.” 10 In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — New Century Version (NCV)

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab, and he thought, “Surely the Lord has appointed this person standing here before him.”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t look at how handsome Eliab is or how tall he is, because I have not chosen him. God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Then Jesse called Abinadab and told him to pass by Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this man either.” Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “No, the Lord has not chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass by Samuel. But Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — American Standard Version (ASV)

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely Jehovah’s anointed is before him. But Jehovah said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for Jehovah seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath Jehovah chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath Jehovah chosen this. 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Jehovah hath not chosen these.

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And it came to pass when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely Jehovah’s anointed is before him. But Jehovah said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him; for it is not as man seeth; for man looketh upon the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh upon the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has Jehovah chosen this one. Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, Neither has Jehovah chosen this one. 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, Jehovah has not chosen these.

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

When they came, he saw Eliab and thought, “Certainly, here in the Lord’s presence is his anointed king.” 

But the Lord told Samuel, “Don’t look at his appearance or how tall he is, because I have rejected him. God does not see as humans see.Humans look at outward appearances, but the Lord looks into the heart.” 

Then Jesse called Abinadab and brought him to Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 

Then Jesse had Shammah come to Samuel. “The Lord has not chosen this one either,” Samuel said. 10 So Jesse brought seven ⸤more⸥ of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen ⸤any of⸥ these.

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before Him.”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”

Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said. Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.” 10 After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.”

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

When they came, he saw Eliab and said, “Surely his anointed one is before Yahweh!” 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 does not see what man sees, for a man looks on the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel, and he said, “This one also Yahweh has not chosen.” So Jesse made Shammah pass before Samuel, but he said, “Yahweh also has not chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen any of these.”

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab. He thought, “This has to be the one the Lord wants me to anoint for him.”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider how handsome or tall he is. I have not chosen him. I do not look at the things people look at. Man looks at how someone appears on the outside. But I look at what is in the heart.”

Then Jesse called for Abinadab. He had him walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen him either.”

Then Jesse had Shammah walk by. But Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen him either.”

10 Jesse had seven of his sons walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said to him, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of them.”

1 Samuel 16:6–10 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.”

But the Lord 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 the Lord looks at the heart.”

Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”

Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”

10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”


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