1 Samuel · Majority Standard Bible
1 Samuel 15 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD.
1 Samuel said to Saul, “Yahweh sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore listen to the voice of Yahweh’s words.
2 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them on their way up from Egypt.
2 Yahweh of Armies says, ‘I remember what Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way when he came up out of Egypt.
3 Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
3 Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and don’t spare them; but kill both man and woman, infant and nursing baby, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
4 So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.
4 Saul summoned the people, and counted them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.
5 Saul came to the city of Amalek, and set an ambush in the valley.
6 And he warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt, go on and get away from the Amalekites. Otherwise I will sweep you away with them.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
7 Saul struck the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is before Egypt.
8 He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, but devoted all the others to destruction with the sword.
8 He took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to devote them to destruction, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, of the cattle, of the fat calves, of the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to utterly destroy them; but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
10 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,
10 Then Yahweh’s word came to Samuel, saying,
11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
11 “It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.” Samuel was angry; and he cried to Yahweh all night.
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and behold, he has set up a monument for himself and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.”
12 Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and Samuel was told, saying, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, turned, passed on, and went down to Gilgal.”
13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
13 Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, “You are blessed by Yahweh! I have performed the commandment of Yahweh.”
14 But Samuel replied, “Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?”
14 Samuel said, “Then what does this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the cattle which I hear mean?”
15 Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but the rest we devoted to destruction.”
15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the cattle, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God. We have utterly destroyed the rest.”
16 “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied.
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stay, and I will tell you what Yahweh said to me last night.” He said to him, “Say on.”
17 And Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, have you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel
17 Samuel said, “Though you were little in your own sight, weren’t you made the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over Israel;
18 and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’
18 and Yahweh sent you on a journey, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’
19 So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”
19 Why then didn’t you obey Yahweh’s voice, but took the plunder, and did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight?”
20 “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the LORD gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
20 Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed Yahweh’s voice, and have gone the way which Yahweh sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
21 But the people took of the plunder, sheep and cattle, the best of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God in Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
22 Samuel said, “Has Yahweh as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying Yahweh’s voice? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected Yahweh’s word, he has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship the LORD.”
25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh.”
26 “I will not return with you,” Samuel replied. “For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and He has rejected you as king over Israel.”
26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected Yahweh’s word, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore.
27 As Samuel turned around to go away, Saul grabbed the skirt of his robe, and it tore.
28 So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.
28 Samuel said to him, “Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you.
29 Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
29 Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.”
30 “I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”
30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and come back with me, that I may worship Yahweh your God.”
31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.
31 So Samuel went back with Saul; and Saul worshiped Yahweh.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agag came to him cheerfully, for he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag the king of the Amalekites here to me!” Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
33 But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
33 Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women!” Then Samuel cut Agag in pieces before Yahweh in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
35 Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death, but Samuel mourned for Saul. Yahweh grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Agag
King of Amalek, whom Saul captured alive against the LORD's command to destroy everything, and whom Samuel hacked to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
Cited in the guide: 1 Samuel 15:8; 1 Samuel 15:9; 1 Samuel 15:32
Saul
Israel's first king, anointed by Samuel but later rejected for his disobedience to God.
Cited in the guide: 1 Samuel 9-10; 1 Samuel 15
Cross references (32)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Samuel 9:16; 1 Samuel 12:14; 1 Chronicles 22:12–13; 1 Samuel 13:13; Psalm 2:10–11
- 2 Deuteronomy 25:17–19; Numbers 24:20; Exodus 17:8–16; Hosea 7:2; Amos 8:7
- 3 Deuteronomy 20:16–18; Numbers 24:20; Isaiah 14:21–22; 1 Samuel 22:19; Numbers 31:17
- 4 Joshua 15:24; 1 Samuel 11:8; 1 Samuel 13:15
- 6 Judges 1:16; Numbers 10:29–32; Numbers 24:21–22; Judges 4:11; Exodus 18:19
- 7 Genesis 25:18; Genesis 16:7; 1 Samuel 14:48; 1 Samuel 27:8; Genesis 2:11
- 8 1 Samuel 30:1; Numbers 24:7; Esther 3:1; 1 Kings 20:34–42; Joshua 11:12
- 9 1 Samuel 15:15; 1 Samuel 15:19; 1 Samuel 15:3; Joshua 7:21; 2 Samuel 6:13
- 11 1 Samuel 13:13; Genesis 6:6; Psalm 119:136; 2 Samuel 24:16; Jeremiah 9:18
- 12 Joshua 15:55; 1 Samuel 25:2; 2 Samuel 18:18; 1 Kings 18:42; Joshua 4:8–9
- 13 Judges 17:2; Ruth 3:10; Proverbs 28:13; Proverbs 30:13; Luke 18:11
- 14 Psalm 36:2; Jeremiah 2:22–23; Romans 3:19; Malachi 3:13–15; Jeremiah 2:18–19
- 15 1 Samuel 15:9; 1 Samuel 15:21; Exodus 32:22–23; Genesis 3:12–13; Proverbs 28:13
- 16 1 Samuel 9:27; 1 Kings 22:16; 1 Samuel 12:7
- 17 1 Samuel 15:1–3; 1 Samuel 9:21; 1 Samuel 10:22; 1 Samuel 10:1; Matthew 18:4
- 18 Genesis 15:16; Job 31:3; Genesis 13:13; Numbers 16:38; Proverbs 10:29
- 19 1 Samuel 14:32; 2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Chronicles 36:12; Jeremiah 7:11; Habakkuk 2:9–12
- 20 1 Samuel 15:13; Matthew 19:20; Romans 10:3; Job 34:5; Job 35:2
- 21 1 Samuel 15:15; Exodus 32:22–23; Genesis 3:13
- 22 Hosea 6:6; Psalm 51:16–17; Proverbs 21:3; Amos 5:21–24; Mark 12:33
- 23 Jeremiah 28:16; 1 Samuel 13:14; Leviticus 20:6; Galatians 5:20; 2 Corinthians 6:16
- 24 2 Samuel 12:13; Isaiah 51:12–13; Proverbs 29:25; Galatians 1:10; Numbers 22:34
- 25 Exodus 10:17
- 26 Hosea 4:6; 1 Samuel 13:14; 1 Samuel 16:1; Jeremiah 6:19; 1 Samuel 15:23
- 27 1 Kings 11:30–31
- 28 1 Samuel 28:17–18; Acts 13:22; Romans 13:1; 1 Samuel 2:7–8; Daniel 4:17
- 29 Numbers 23:19; Ezekiel 24:14; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18; 2 Timothy 2:13
- 30 John 12:43; John 5:44; Isaiah 29:13; 2 Timothy 3:5; Luke 18:9–14
- 32 Jeremiah 48:44; Revelation 18:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:3
- 33 Judges 1:7; Genesis 9:6; Matthew 7:2; Revelation 18:6; James 2:13
- 34 1 Samuel 11:4; 1 Samuel 7:17
- 35 1 Samuel 19:24; 1 Samuel 15:11; 1 Samuel 16:1; Jeremiah 9:1–2; Genesis 6:6
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Behold, a ready obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." David also says: "Sacrifice and oblation Thou didst not desire, but mine ears hast Thou perfected; burnt-offerings also for sin Thou hast not required." He thus teaches them that God desires obedience, which renders them secure, rather than sacrifices and holocausts, which avail them …
Again Saul sinned through disobedience, and again Samuel says to him in the word of the Lord, "Because thou hast despised the word of the Lord, the Lord hath despised thee, that thou mayest not be king over Israel." And again for the same sin, when Saul confessed it, and prayed for pardon, and besought Samuel to return with him …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
And He will not be changed, neither will He repent: for He is not as a man, that He should repent; who threatens and does not persist." He to whom it is said, "The Lord will despise thee that thou mayest not be king over Israel," and "The Lord hath rent the kingdom from Israel out of thine hand this …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)