Tree of Life Version
1 Samuel 15:23
23For rebellion is like the sin of divination and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Since you have rejected Adonai’s word, He has also rejected you as king.”
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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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."
- 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.”
Context of 1 Samuel 15:23
21But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen—the best of what was under the ban of destruction— to sacrifice to Adonai your God in Gilgal.” 22Samuel said: “Does Adonai delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Adonai? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Since you have rejected Adonai’s word, He has also rejected you as king.” 24Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned! For I have transgressed against the word of Adonai and your words—because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 25So now, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship Adonai.”
Read all of 1 Samuel 151 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 fear Adonai and worship Him, and listen to His voice and do not rebel against the command of Adonai, then both you as well as the king who reigns over you will be following Adonai your God.
- Numbers 14:9Only don’t rebel against Adonai, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They will be food for us. The protection over them is gone. Adonai is with us! Do not fear them.”
- Deuteronomy 9:7“Remember, never forget, how you provoked Adonai your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Adonai.
- Joshua 22:16“Thus says the whole congregation of Adonai: ‘What is this treachery that you have committed today against the God of Israel, by turning away from following Adonai, building yourselves an altar, rebelling this day against Adonai?
- Job 34:37For he adds rebellion to his sin; in our midst he claps his hands and multiplies his words against God.”
- Psalms 107:11for they had defied God’s words, and spurned the counsel of Elyon.
- Jeremiah 28:16Therefore thus says Adonai: I am about to send you away from off the face of the earth. This year you will die, since you have spoken apostasy against Adonai.”
- Jeremiah 29:32therefore thus says Adonai, “I will indeed punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his offspring. There will be none living among this people, and he will not see the good that I will do to My people,” declares Adonai, “because he has spoken rebellion against Adonai.”
- Ezekiel 2:5Whether they listen, or whether they will refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet was among them.
- Exodus 22:18“Anyone who lies with an animal must surely be put to death.
- Leviticus 20:6“The soul that turns to mediums or to soothsayers, prostituting himself with them, I will set My face against that soul and will cut him off from among his people.
- Deuteronomy 18:10There must not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or a fortune-teller, soothsayer, omen reader, or sorcerer,
- Isaiah 8:19When they say to you: “Consult the mediums and necromancers who chirp and mutter,” shouldn’t a people seek their God? Should a people consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Isaiah 19:3The spirit of Egypt will drain within it, and I will confuse its counsel. So they will resort to idols, charmers, mediums and familiar spirits.
- Revelation 22:15Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- 2 Corinthians 6:16What agreement does God’s Temple have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God—just as God said, “I will dwell in 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
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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