Verse Lens · Context pointer
1 Chronicles 12:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first name, action, or speech: “And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David.” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “David tests intentions and Amasai speaks by the Spirit.”
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 12:16–18
Read 1 Chronicles 12:16 with 12:16–18. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first name, action, or speech; the surrounding verses supply the relationships and outcome summarized here: David asks whether newcomers bring peace or betrayal, and Amasai declares peace and divine help before David appoints them.
Why It Needs Context
1 Chronicles 12:16 depends on 12:16–18; isolating “And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David” would detach a supporting name, action, quotation, number, object, or transition from “David tests intentions and Amasai speaks by the Spirit.”
Read 1 Chronicles 12:16–18 together
Why these verses belong together: 1 Chronicles 12:16–18 forms the complete movement “David tests intentions and Amasai speaks by the Spirit”: David asks whether newcomers bring peace or betrayal, and Amasai declares peace and divine help before David appoints them.
Verse 16. 16 And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David.
Verse 17. 17 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.
Verse 18. 18 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.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Chronicles 12:16–18 — David tests intentions and Amasai speaks by the SpiritSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 12:16–18, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 12:16–18
Open source ↗