1 Samuel 15:6-16

6 Saul said to ¹the Kenites, "Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you with them; for ²you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

7 So ³Saul defeated the Amalekites, from ⁴Havilah as you go to ⁵Shur, which is east * of Egypt.

8 He captured ⁶Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and ⁷utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

9 But Saul and the people ⁸spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything * despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

Samuel Rebukes Saul

10 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,

11 "⁹I regret that I have made Saul king, for ¹⁰he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands." And Samuel was distressed and ¹¹cried out to the LORD all night.

12 Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul came to ¹²Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to ¹³Gilgal."

13 Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "¹⁴Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD."

14 But Samuel said, "¹⁵What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"

15 Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites, for ¹⁶the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed."

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait, and let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak!"

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1 Samuel 15:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 15

In this chapter are recorded the order Saul had from the Lord to destroy Amalek utterly, 1Sa 15:1-3 the preparation he made to put it in execution, and the success thereof, 1Sa 15:4-9 the offence the Lord took at his not obeying his order thoroughly, with which Samuel was made acquainted, and which grieved him, 1Sa 15:10,11, upon which he went out to meet Saul, and reprove him; and a long discourse upon the subject passed between them, the issue of which was, that by an irrevocable decree he was rejected from being king, 1Sa 15:12-31 and the chapter is concluded with an account of Samuel's hewing in pieces Agag king of Amalek, and of his final departure from Saul, 1Sa 15:32-35.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 16

1. Numbers 24:21; Judges 1:16; Judges 4:11
2. Exodus 18:9, 10; Numbers 10:29-32
3. 1 Samuel 14:48
4. Genesis 25:18
5. Genesis 16:7; Exodus 15:22; 1 Samuel 27:8
6. Numbers 24:7; 1 Samuel 15:20; Esther 3:1
7. 1 Samuel 27:8, 9; 1 Samuel 30:1; 2 Samuel 8:12
8. 1 Sam 15:3, 15, 19
9. Genesis 6:6, 7; Exodus 32:14; 1 Samuel 15:35; 2 Samuel 24:16
10. Joshua 22:16; 1 Samuel 13:13; 1 Kings 9:6, 7
11. Exodus 32:11-13; Luke 6:12
12. Joshua 15:55; 1 Samuel 25:2
13. 1 Samuel 13:12, 15
14. Genesis 14:19; Judges 17:2; Ruth 3:10; 2 Samuel 2:5
15. Exodus 32:21-24
16. Genesis 3:12, 13; Exodus 32:22, 23; 1 Samuel 15:9, 21

Footnotes 6

[a]. Lit "smote"
[b]. Lit "before"
[c]. Lit "after"
[d]. Lit "and went down"
[e]. Lit "sound"
[f]. Lit "sound"