1 Samuel 15:17

1 Samuel 15:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?
• New International Version (NIV)Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Samuel said, "Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So Samuel said, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel?

Context of 1 Samuel 15:17

15Saul answered, ‘My soldiers took them from the Amalekites. They saved the best sheep and cows. They will offer them to the Lord your God as sacrifices. We killed all the other animals.’ 16Samuel said to Saul, ‘Listen to me! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’ Saul said, ‘Tell me.’ Samuel said, ‘At one time, you thought that you were not an important person. Now you have become the leader of all the tribes of Israel. The Lord chose you to be king of Israel. 18He gave you a job to do. He told you, “Go and kill all those wicked Amalekites. Fight against them until you have destroyed them all.” 19Why did you not obey the Lord? Instead you have been greedy. You have hurried to take things for yourself. You have done something evil that does not please the Lord.’

1 Samuel 15:17 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֔ל הֲל֗וֹא אִם־קָטֹ֤ן אַתָּה֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ רֹ֛אשׁ שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אָ֑תָּה וַיִּמְשָׁחֲךָ֧ יְהוָ֛ה לְמֶ֖לֶךְ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Samuelשְׁמוּאֵלshemû'êl · SamuelH8050
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• littleקָטֹןqâţân qâţôn · smallH6996
• in thine own sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: appearanceH5869
• the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
• of the tribesשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribeH7626
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• and the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• anointedמָשַׁחmâshach · to anointH4886
• thee kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 15:17

• 1 Samuel 9:21Saul answered, ‘I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. It is the smallest tribe in the nation of Israel. And my family belongs to the smallest clan in that tribe. So why do you speak like this to me?’
• 1 Samuel 10:22So they asked the Lord, ‘Has Saul arrived here yet?’ The Lord said, ‘Yes, but he is hiding among the luggage.’
• Judges 6:15Gideon said, ‘But sir, how can I rescue Israel? Look at me! My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh. And I am the youngest person in my family.’
• Hosea 13:1In past times, when the leaders of Israel spoke, the people were afraid. The people respected their leaders. But the people became guilty when they worshipped Baal. Because of that, they died.
• Matthew 18:4This little child does not think that he is very important. You must also think as he does. Whoever does this will be the most important person in the kingdom of heaven.
• 1 Samuel 15:1Samuel said to Saul, ‘The Lord sent me to anoint you as king to rule his people, the Israelites. So now listen to this message from the Lord.
• 1 Samuel 10:1Then Samuel took a jar of oil and he poured the oil on Saul's head. He kissed Saul. He said: ‘The Lord has anointed you as the leader of his people. You will rule over them and you will rescue them from the power of their enemies. This is how you will know that the Lord has chosen you to be the leader of the Israelite people:

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 15:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Little in thine own sight - Who can bear prosperity? Is it not of the Lord's great goodness that the majority of the inhabitants of the earth are in comparative poverty?Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-23Verses 10-23 Repentance in God is not a change of mind, as it is in us, but a change of method. The change was in Saul; "He is turned back from following me." Hereby he made God his enemy. Samuel spent a whole night in pleading for Saul. The rejection of sinners is the grief of believers: God delights not in their death, nor should we. Saul boasts to Samuel of his obedience. Thus sinners think, by justifying themselves, to escape being judged of the Lord…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17As the anointed king of Israel, Saul was responsible for disobeying God. False humility or excuses could not lessen this responsibility.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-2313-23. Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord--Saul was either blinded by a partial and delusive self-love, or he was, in his declaration to Samuel, acting the part of a bold and artful hypocrite. He professed to have fulfilled the divine command, and that the blame of any defects in the execution lay with the people. Samuel saw the real state of the case, and in discharge of the commission he had…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 15:17

• Agency
• Amalekites
• Church and State
• Falsehood
• Gilgal
• Ingratitude
• Minister, Christian
• Presumption
• Repentance
• Reproof
• Rulers
• Self-Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Samuel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Agag
• Better
• Chief
• Pardon
• Reject
• Saul

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings