1 Samuel 15:14

14 But Samuel said, "Then why do I hear the baaing of sheep? Why do I hear the mooing of cattle?"

1 Samuel 15:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 15:14

And Samuel said, what meaneth then this bleating of the sheep
in mine ears
For the orders were to destroy all living creatures belonging to the Amalekites, ( 1 Samuel 15:3 ) if therefore Saul had performed the commandment of the Lord, as he said he had, from whence were these sheep Samuel heard bleating?

and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
where do they come from? these questions he put to convict him of the falsehood he had delivered; the bleating and lowing of these creatures proved him a liar, and were witnesses of his breach of the divine command; and one would think every bleating and lowing of these must alarm his conscience, unless dreadfully stupefied.

1 Samuel 15:14 In-Context

12 Early the next morning Samuel got up. He went to see Saul. But Samuel was told, "Saul went to Carmel. There he set up a monument in his own honor. Now he has gone on down to Gilgal."

13 When Samuel got there, Saul said, "May the LORD bless you. I've done what he directed me to do."

14 But Samuel said, "Then why do I hear the baaing of sheep? Why do I hear the mooing of cattle?"

15 Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites. They spared the best of the sheep and cattle. They did it to sacrifice them to the LORD your God. But we totally destroyed everything else."

16 "Stop!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." "Tell me," Saul replied.