1 Samuel 15:23

1 Samuel 15:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
• New International Version (NIV)For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
• New King James Version (NKJV)For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

Context of 1 Samuel 15:23

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." 22And 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. For 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. 25Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord."

1 Samuel 15:23 word by word

כִּ֤י חַטַּאת־קֶ֙סֶם֙ מֶ֔רִי וְאָ֥וֶן וּתְרָפִ֖ים הַפְצַ֑ר יַ֗עַן מָאַ֙סְתָּ֙ אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה וַיִּמְאָסְךָ֖ מִמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For rebellionמְרִיmerîy · rebellionH4805
• the sinחַטָּאתchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sinH2403
• of witchcraftקֶ֫סֶםqesem · divinationH7081
• and stubbornnessפָּצַרpâtsar · to pressH6484
• iniquityאָ֫וֶן'âven · evil: wickednessH205
• and idolatryתְּרָפִיםterâphîym · teraphimH8655
• Because thou hast rejectedמָאַסmâ'as · to rejectH3988
• the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 15:23

• 1 Samuel 12:14If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well.
• Numbers 14:9Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them."
• Deuteronomy 9:7Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.
• Joshua 22:16"Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, 'What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the Lord?
• Job 34:37For he adds rebellion to his sin; he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God."
• Psalms 107:11for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
• Jeremiah 28:16Therefore thus says the Lord: 'Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.'"
• Jeremiah 29:32therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.'"
• Ezekiel 2:5And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.
• Exodus 22:18"You shall not permit a sorceress to live.
• Leviticus 20:6"If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.
• Deuteronomy 18:10There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer
• Isaiah 8:19And when they say to you, "Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter," should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
• Isaiah 19:3and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;
• Revelation 22:15Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
• 2 Corinthians 6:16What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 15:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry - This is no translation of those difficult words, הפצר ותרפים ואון מרי קסם חטאת כי ki chattath kesem meri veaven utheraphim haphtsar . It appears to me that the three nouns which occur first in the text refer each to the three last in order. Thus, חטאת chattath, Transgression, refers to און aven, Iniquity, which is the principle whence transgression springs. קסם…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23The meaning is “Rebellion is as bad as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as bad as worshipping false gods (iniquity), and teraphim (idolatry).”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. 23Rebellion … and arrogance: These sins of the heart are as bad as the sinful practices of idol-worshipping pagans. Scripture condemns witchcraft (see study note on Deuteronomy 18:10).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 15:23

• Amalekites
• Church and State
• Falsehood
• Gilgal
• Idolatry
• Impenitence
• Minister, Christian
• Presumption
• Repentance
• Reprobacy
• Reproof
• Rulers
• Saul
• Self-Righteousness
• Self-Will
• Sorcery

In the dictionaries

• Agag
• Better
• Chief
• Idolatry
• Pardon
• Reject
• Samuel
• Saul
• Skirt
• Witchcraft

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