1 Samuel 15:10-24

Samuel Rebukes Saul

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

11 "¹I regret that I have made Saul king, for ²he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands." And Samuel was distressed and ³cried 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 ⁴Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to ⁵Gilgal."

13 Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "⁶Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD."

14 But Samuel said, "⁷What 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 ⁸the 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!"

17 Samuel said, "Is it not true, ⁹though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the LORD anointed you king over Israel,

18 and the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, '¹⁰Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.'

19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, ¹¹but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD?"

20 Then Saul said to Samuel, "¹²I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

21 "But ¹³the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal."

22 Samuel said, "¹⁴Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, ¹⁵to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

23 "For rebellion is as the sin of ¹⁶divination, And insubordination is as ¹⁷iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, ¹⁸He has also rejected you from being king."

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, "¹⁹I have sinned; ²⁰I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.

1 Samuel 15:10-24 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.

Cross References

• 1. Genesis 6:6, 7; Exodus 32:14; 1 Samuel 15:35; 2 Samuel 24:16
• 2. Joshua 22:16; 1 Samuel 13:13; 1 Kings 9:6, 7
• 3. Exodus 32:11-13; Luke 6:12
• 4. Joshua 15:55; 1 Samuel 25:2
• 5. 1 Samuel 13:12, 15
• 6. Genesis 14:19; Judges 17:2; Ruth 3:10; 2 Samuel 2:5
• 7. Exodus 32:21-24
• 8. Genesis 3:12, 13; Exodus 32:22, 23; 1 Samuel 15:9, 21
• 9. 1 Samuel 9:21; 1 Samuel 10:22
• 10. 1 Samuel 15:3
• 11. 1 Samuel 14:32
• 12. 1 Samuel 15:13
• 13. Exodus 32:22, 23; 1 Samuel 15:15
• 14. Psalms 40:6-8; Psalms 51:16, 17; Isaiah 1:11-15; Micah 6:6-8; Hebrews 10:6-9
• 15. Jeremiah 7:22, 23; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 12:7; Mark 12:33
• 16. Deuteronomy 18:10
• 17. Genesis 31:19, 34
• 18. 1 Samuel 13:14
• 19. Numbers 22:34; 2 Samuel 12:13; Psalms 51:4
• 20. Proverbs 29:25; Isaiah 51:12, 13

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "after"
• [b]. Lit "and went down"
• [c]. Lit "sound"
• [d]. Lit "sound"
• [e]. Lit "way"
• [f]. Lit "way"
• [g]. Lit "mouth"