Bible Strands
1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks to Samuel, correcting his immediate assumption that Eliab—tall, handsome, firstborn—is the chosen king (v.6). The moment is the anointing of a successor to Saul, before any son has been selected.
The words — תַּבֵּט (tāḇēṭ, H5027) is the jussive of "to look, to gaze"; in the negative form אַל תבט it becomes a direct prohibition on the act of visual appraisal. Its object, מַרְאֵה (mar'ēh, H4758), means "appearance, form, sight"—the visible surface that God declares insufficient.
The thread — Jeremiah 17:10 states the divine side of the contrast: the LORD searches the heart and examines the mind to reward according to deeds. John 7:24 and Luke 16:15 restate the human-side warning: stop judging by outward appearances, because God already knows what is inside.
Why it lands — The verse removes the reader's default evaluation tool—what is visible—and forces a confrontation with the fact that God's choices are not legible from the outside. It asks the reader to stop treating appearance as a proxy for divine approval.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- John 7:24 Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”
- Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Luke 16:15 So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
- 1 Peter 3:4 but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
- Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
- Proverbs 16:2 All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.
- Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
- Psalms 147:10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9 As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
- 1 Kings 8:39 be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men—