1 Samuel 15:13

13 When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, "May you be blessed by the Lord; I have carried out the command of the Lord."

1 Samuel 15:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 15:13

And Samuel came to Saul
At Gilgal:

and Saul said unto him, blessed be thou of the Lord;
signifying that he had abundant reason to bless the Lord on his account, not only that he had anointed him king, but had sent him on such an errand, in which he had succeeded so well, and it was a pleasure to him that he might report it to him:

I have performed the commandment of the Lord;
either he was really ignorant that he had done amiss; and thought that his sparing Agag, when he had destroyed all the rest, and reserving some of the best of the cattle for sacrifice, could not be interpreted a breach of the orders given him; or if he was conscious he had broken the commandment of the Lord, this he said to prevent Samuel's reproof of him, and to sooth him with flattering words.

1 Samuel 15:13 In-Context

11 "I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not carried out my commands." Samuel was angry; and he cried out to the Lord all night.

12 Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, and Samuel was told, "Saul went to Carmel, where he set up a monument for himself, and on returning he passed on down to Gilgal."

13 When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, "May you be blessed by the Lord; I have carried out the command of the Lord."

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

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