1 Samuel 15:18

18 Now ADONAI sent you on a mission and told you, 'Go and completely destroy 'Amalek, those sinners; keep making war on them until they have been exterminated.

1 Samuel 15:18 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 15:18

And the Lord sent thee on a journey
And therefore he ought to have attended to the errand sent upon, and executed the orders given; in vain, therefore, was it to lay the blame on the people:

and said, go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites;
those notorious sinners, who deserve no mercy at the hands of God or men; who had so highly offended the Lord, and had been so injurious to his people at their first coming out of Egypt. The orders were plain, not to be mistaken, and full and strong for the utter destruction of them without any exception, and therefore nothing could be pleaded in excuse for the violation of them:

and fight against them until they be consumed;
entirely; they were not to be left until an end was made of them; or "until they had consumed them" ^F4, the people of Israel, or the soldiers with Saul.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (Mta Mtwlk de) "donec consumant ipsi eos", Pagninus; so Vatablus.

1 Samuel 15:18 In-Context

16 Then Sh'mu'el said to Sha'ul, "Stop! I'm going to tell you what ADONAI said to me last night." He said, "Speak."

17 Sh'mu'el then said, "You may be small in your own sight, but you are head of the tribes of Isra'el -ADONAI anointed you king over Isra'el!

18 Now ADONAI sent you on a mission and told you, 'Go and completely destroy 'Amalek, those sinners; keep making war on them until they have been exterminated.

19 Why did you seize the spoil instead of paying attention to what ADONAI said? From ADONAI's viewpoint, you have done an evil thing."

20 Sha'ul said to Sh'mu'el, "I did too pay attention to what ADONAI said, and I carried out the mission on which ADONAI sent me. I brought back Agag the king of 'Amalek, and I completely destroyed 'Amalek.