---
title: 1 Samuel 16:14
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-samuel-16-14/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-samuel-16-14.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: 1 Samuel 16:14
testament: OT
section: History
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# 1 Samuel 16:14

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him.

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "Now the spirit of Jehovah had departed from Saul, and a bad spirit from Jehovah terrorized him."

## JW Usage

JWs cite this verse alongside David's plea in Psalm 51:11 as proof the holy spirit can be withdrawn. The argument flows from there to the household: if Saul lost the spirit through disobedience, then the baptised member's unresolved sin can likewise block or withdraw the spirit's blessing from the family. The spirit is conditional presence, available when the believer is clean.

## Protestant Usage

The Old Covenant Spirit-economy did include withdrawal — Saul is the classic case, and David's prayer in Psalm 51:11 reflects the same arrangement. But Jesus draws a deliberate contrast with the New Covenant: "He will be with you forever" (John 14:16) and Paul calls the Spirit a permanent seal "until the day of redemption" (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30). Pentecost inaugurates a new mode of indwelling grounded in Christ's finished work. New Covenant believers grieve the Spirit when they sin (Ephesians 4:30); they do not evict him. The doorstep distinction is between an empowering visitation that can be recalled (Saul) and a covenantal sealing that endures (Ephesians 1:13-14). Reading Saul's loss as the template for New Covenant household pneumatology mixes the covenants.

## NWT Issue

NWT renders "the spirit of Jehovah had departed from Saul, and a bad spirit from Jehovah terrorised him", with "spirit" lowercase throughout. The lowercase is consistent with the Watchtower's active-force pneumatology rather than a translation choice driven by the Hebrew alone. The doctrinal effect is to support the conditional-presence model the Watchtower applies to households today, rather than locating the Saul case inside the unique Old Covenant empowering arrangement.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Sin Doesn't Block the Spirit from the Household — The Seal That Stays](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/sin-blocks-holy-spirit-household.md) — Ephesians 1:13-14 — Sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise [Holy Spirit]