1 Samuel 15:22

1 Samuel 15:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
• New International Version (NIV)But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
• New Living Translation (NLT)But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

Context of 1 Samuel 15:22

20And 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. 21But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king." 24Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

1 Samuel 15:22 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל הַחֵ֤פֶץ לַֽיהוָה֙ בְּעֹל֣וֹת וּזְבָחִ֔ים כִּשְׁמֹ֖עַ בְּק֣וֹל יְהוָ֑ה הִנֵּ֤ה שְׁמֹ֙עַ֙ מִזֶּ֣בַח ט֔וֹב לְהַקְשִׁ֖יב מֵחֵ֥לֶב אֵילִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Samuelשְׁמוּאֵלshemû'êl · SamuelH8050
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Hath the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• delightחֵ֫פֶץchêphets · pleasureH2656
• in burnt offeringsעֹלָה‛ôlâh ‛ôlâh · burnt offeringH5930
• and sacrificesזֶ֫בַחzebach · sacrificeH2077
• as in obeyingשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: obeyH8085
• the voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
• betterטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• to hearkenקָשַׁבqâshab · to listenH7181
• than the fatחֵ֫לֶבcheleb chêleb · fatH2459
• of ramsאַ֫יִל'ayil · ramH352

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 15:22

• Psalms 50:8Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
• Psalms 51:16For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
• Proverbs 21:3To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
• Isaiah 1:11"What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
• Jeremiah 7:22For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.
• Hosea 6:6For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
• Amos 5:21"I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
• Micah 6:6"With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
• Matthew 9:13Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
• Matthew 12:7And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.
• Matthew 23:23"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
• Hebrews 10:4For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
• Exodus 19:5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
• Ecclesiastes 5:1Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.
• Jeremiah 7:23But this command I gave them: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.'
• Jeremiah 11:4that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God,

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 15:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Hath the Lord as great delight, etc. - This was a very proper answer to, and refutation of Saul's excuse. Is not obedience to the will of God the end of all religion, of its rites, ceremonies, and sacrifices?Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Hath the Lord … - A grand example of the moral and spiritual teaching of the prophets (see the marginal references). The tension of Samuel‘s spirit, as he is about to pronounce the sentence of rejection, produces a lyrical turn of thought and language.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. 22Does the LORD delight: God values obedience more than ritual acts (see also Psalm 40:6; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 12:7). the fat of rams: People offered the best parts of the animal to God.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 15:22

• Amalekites
• Church and State
• Falsehood
• Formalism
• Gilgal
• Minister, Christian
• Obedience
• Offerings
• Presumption
• Repentance
• Reproof
• Rulers
• Saul
• Self-Righteousness
• Self-Will

In the dictionaries

• Samuel
• Agag
• Better
• Chief
• Pardon
• Reject
• Saul
• Skirt
• Arabia
• Delight

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