1 Samuel 15:13

13 Shemu'el came to Sha'ul; and Sha'ul said to him, Blessed are you by the LORD: I have performed the mitzvah 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 It repents me that I have set up Sha'ul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and has not performed my mitzvot. Shemu'el was angry; and he cried to the LORD all night.

12 Shemu'el rose early to meet Sha'ul in the morning; and it was told Shemu'el, saying, Sha'ul came to Karmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.

13 Shemu'el came to Sha'ul; and Sha'ul said to him, Blessed are you by the LORD: I have performed the mitzvah of the LORD.

14 Shemu'el said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

15 Sha'ul said, They have brought them from the `Amaleki: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.