# 1 Samuel 16.17 **Book:** [1 Samuel](/codex/1-samuel/) · NASB95 ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 15. And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16. Let our lord now command thy servants, that are before thee, to seek out a man who is a skilful player on the harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. > > **17. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.** > > 18. Then answered one of the young men, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skilful in playing, and a mighty man of valor, and a man of war, and prudent in speech, and a comely person; and Jehovah is with him. 19. Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep. (1 Samuel 16:15-19, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 15. Saul’s servants said to him, “See now, an evil spirit from God troubles you. 16. Let our lord now command your servants who are in front of you to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. Then when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will play with his hand, and you will be well.” > > **17. Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.”** > > 18. Then one of the young men answered, and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and Yahweh is with him.” 19. Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” (1 Samuel 16:15-19, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 15. And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. > > **17. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.** > > 18. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him. matters: or, speech 19. Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. (1 Samuel 16:15-19, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 15. and the servants of Saul say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, a spirit of sadness [from] God is terrifying thee; 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 [from] God being upon thee, that he hath played with his hand, and [it is] well with thee.' > > **17. And Saul saith unto his servants, 'Provide, I pray you, for me a man playing well, then ye have brought [him] in unto me.'** > > 18. And one of the servants answereth and saith, 'Lo, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, skilful in playing, and a mighty virtuous man, and a man of battle, and intelligent in word, and a man of form, and Jehovah [is] with him.' 19. And Saul sendeth messengers unto Jesse, and saith, 'Send unto me David thy son, who [is] with the flock.' (1 Samuel 16:15-19, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** _TBD_ - **Audience:** _TBD_ - **Location:** _TBD_ - **Time period:** _TBD_ ## Theological reading _Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._ ## Key words _Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap._ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ - _TBD_ ## Quoted in **Concepts:** - [Zeitgeist - Astrotheological Claims](/codex/zeitgeist-astrotheological-claims/) --- _Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_ ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.