New Living Translation
1 Samuel 15:17
17And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel.
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
15“It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.” 16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!” “What did he tell you?” Saul asked. And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. 18And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ 19Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
Read all of 1 Samuel 151 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 replied, “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?”
- 1 Samuel 10:22So they asked the Lord, “Where is he?” And the Lord replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.”
- Judges 6:15“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”
- Hosea 13:1When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the people shook with fear, for that tribe was important in Israel. But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal and thus sealed their destruction.
- Matthew 18:4So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
- 1 Samuel 15:1One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the Lord who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the Lord!
- 1 Samuel 10:1Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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