1 Samuel 16 · Verse 4

1 Samuel 16:4

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?
1 Samuel 16:4, King James Version

1 Samuel 16:4 in other translations

BSBSo 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?”
WEBSamuel did that which the LORD spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
ASVAnd Samuel did that which Jehovah spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, Comest thou peaceably?
YLTAnd Samuel doth that which Jehovah hath spoken, and cometh in to Beth-Lehem, and the elders of the city tremble to meet him, and one saith, ‘Is thy coming peace?'
DARBYAnd Samuel did what Jehovah said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him, and said, Dost thou come peaceably?
BBEAnd Samuel did as the Lord said and came to Beth-lehem. And the responsible men of the town came out to him in fear and said, Do you come in peace?
WebsterAnd Samuel did that which the LORD spoke, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

What does 1 Samuel 16:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. 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.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 The 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 16:1-5

It appears that Saul was grown very wicked. Of what would he not be guilty, who durst think to kill Samuel? The elders of Bethlehem trembled at Samuel's coming. It becomes us to stand in awe of God's messengers, and to tremble at his word. His answer was, I come peaceably, for I come to sacrifice. When our Lord Jesus came into the world, though men had reason to fear that his errand was to condemn the world, yet he…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 16:1-5 →

1 Samuel 16:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּ֣עַשׂvai.Ya.'asand he didH6213
שְׁמוּאֵ֗לshe.mu.'ElSamuelH8050
אֵ֚ת'et<obj.>H853
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sher[that] whichH834
דִּבֶּ֣רdi.Berhe saidH1696
יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וַיָּבֹ֖אvai.ya.Vo'and he cameH935
בֵּ֣יתbeitBeth-H1035
לָ֑חֶםLa.chem-lehemH1035
וַיֶּחֶרְד֞וּvai.ye.cher.Duand they trembledH2729
זִקְנֵ֤יzik.Nei[the] elders ofH2205
הָעִיר֙ha.'Irthe cityH5892
לִקְרָאת֔וֹlik.ra.Toto meet himH7122
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרvai.Yo.merand someone saidH559
שָׁלֹ֥םsha.Lom[in] peaceH7965
בּוֹאֶֽךָ\׃bo.'E.kha[are] coming? youH935

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 16:4

  • 1 Kings 2:13

    And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath–sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably.

  • 1 Samuel 21:1

    Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

  • 1 Chronicles 12:17-18

    And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.

  • 2 Kings 9:22

    And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?

  • Luke 5:8

    When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

  • 1 Kings 17:18

    And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?

  • Luke 8:37

    Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.

  • Luke 2:4

    And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

  • Hosea 11:10

    They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.

  • 2 Samuel 6:9

    And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and said, How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?

  • Genesis 48:7

    And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Beth–lehem.

  • Hosea 6:5

    Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
trembled.
21:1; 2Sa 6:9; 1Ki 17:18; Ho 6:5; 11:10; Lu 5:8; 8:37
coming. Heb. meeting. Comest.
1Ki 2:13; 2Ki 9:22; 1Ch 12:17,18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 16:3

    And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.

  • 1 Samuel 16:4

    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?

  • 1 Samuel 16:5

    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.

Read all of 1 Samuel 16

1 Samuel 16:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Hizo pues Samuel como le dijo Jehová: y luego que él llegó á Beth-lehem, los ancianos de la ciudad le salieron á recibir con miedo, y dijeron: ¿Es pacífica tu venida?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Samuel fit ce que l’ Éternel avait dit, et vint à Bethléhem; et les anciens de la ville allèrent tremblants à sa rencontre, et dirent: Ta venue est-elle la paix?
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und Samuel tat, was Jehova geredet hatte, und kam nach Bethlehem. Da kamen die Ältesten der Stadt ihm ängstlich entgegen und sprachen: Bedeutet dein Kommen Friede?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Fecit ergo Samuel sicut locutus est ei Dominus. Venitque in Bethlehem, et admirati sunt seniores civitatis occurrentes ei: dixeruntque: Pacificusne est ingressus tuus?