1 Samuel 15:20

1 Samuel 15:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
• New International Version (NIV)“But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Saul said to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

Context of 1 Samuel 15:20

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.’ Saul said to Samuel, ‘I did obey the Lord! I did the job that the Lord told me to do. I killed all the Amalekites and I brought back Agag, their king. 21But the army did not kill all the sheep and cows that they took from the Amalekites. They brought the best animals to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.’ 22But Samuel said, ‘What makes the Lord happy? Which is better? Is he more pleased when people offer burnt offerings and sacrifices to him? Or is he more pleased when people obey him? Listen! It is better to obey the Lord than to offer sacrifices to him. That is true even if you offer to him the best animals that you have.

1 Samuel 15:20 word by word

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר שָׁא֜וּל אֶל־שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל אֲשֶׁ֤ר שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ בְּק֣וֹל יְהוָ֔ה וָאֵלֵ֕ךְ בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ אֲשֶׁר־שְׁלָחַ֣נִי יְהוָ֑ה וָאָבִ֗יא אֶת־אֲגַג֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ עֲמָלֵ֔ק וְאֶת־עֲמָלֵ֖ק הֶחֱרַֽמְתִּי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto Samuelשְׁמוּאֵלshemû'êl · SamuelH8050
• Yea, I have obeyedשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: obeyH8085
• the voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• and have goneיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
• sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• me, and have broughtבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• Agagאֲגָג'ăgag · AgagH90
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Amalekעֲמָלֵק‛ămâlêq · AmalekH6002
• and have utterly destroyedחָרַםchâram · to devote/destroyH2763

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 15:20

• 1 Samuel 15:13Samuel went and he found Saul. Saul said to Samuel, ‘I pray that the Lord will bless you. I have obeyed the Lord's command.’
• Job 33:9“I am not guilty. I have not done anything that is wrong. I am pure and clean.
• Job 34:5Job has said, “I am not guilty. But God refuses to judge me in a fair way.
• Job 35:2‘The things that you say cannot be true. You say, “I am more right than God is.”
• Job 40:8Do you say that I am not a fair judge? Do you want to show that I am guilty, not you? Then you could say that you are right.
• Matthew 19:20‘I have always obeyed these laws,’ the young man replied. ‘What else must I do?’
• Luke 10:29But the man wanted to show that he had been right to ask a question. So he asked, ‘Who are the people near to me that I must love?’
• Luke 18:11The Pharisee stood there by himself. He prayed like this: “Thank you, God, that I am different from all these other people. They are bad people. They rob other people. They have sex with women who are not their wife. Thank you, God, that I am not like this man who takes taxes on behalf of the government.
• Romans 10:3They have not understood the way that God accepts people. Instead, they tried to make their own way to become right with God. They refused to accept God's way that would make them right with him.
• 1 Samuel 15:3Now go and attack the Amalekites. Completely destroy everything that they have. Do not save anything. Kill the men and women, as well as their children and babies. Kill their cows, sheep, camels and donkeys.” ’

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 15:20

• 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. 1-35After Saul disobeyed God by not completely destroying the Amalekites, God rejected him more strongly than before (see 1 Samuel 13:8–14).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 15:20

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

In the dictionaries

• Amalek
• Samuel
• Saul
• Amalek; Amalekite
• Paul, Saul
• Agag
• Better
• Chief
• Pardon
• Reject

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