16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stay, and I will tell you what Yahweh said to me last night.” He said to him, “Say on.”
17Samuel said, “Though you were little in your own sight, weren’t you made the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over Israel;18and Yahweh sent you on a journey, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’19Why then didn’t you obey Yahweh’s voice, but took the plunder, and did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight?”
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stay, and I will tell you what Yahweh said to me last night.” He said to him, “Say on.”
17 Samuel said, “Though you were little in your own sight, weren’t you made the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over Israel;
18 and Yahweh sent you on a journey, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’
19 Why then didn’t you obey Yahweh’s voice, but took the plunder, and did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight?”
KJVKing James Version
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 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?
18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
Show all 3 translations
JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul: 'Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night.' And he said unto him: 'Say on.'
17 And Samuel said: 'Though thou be little in thine own sight, art thou not head of the tribes of Israel? And the LORD anointed thee king over Israel;
18 and the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said: Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not hearken to the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in the sight of the LORD?'
1 Samuel 9:21(v17)Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of…
1 Samuel 10:22(v17)Therefore they asked of Yahweh further, “Is there yet a man to come here?” Yahweh answered, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the…
1 Samuel 15:1-3(v17)Samuel said to Saul, “Yahweh sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel. Now therefore listen to the voice of Yahweh’s…
1 Samuel 10:1(v17)Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, “Hasn’t Yahweh anointed you to be prince over his…
Judges 6:15(v17)He said to him, “O Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
Show all 24 cross-references
1 Samuel 14:32(v19)and the people pounced on the plunder, and took sheep, cattle, and calves, and killed them on the ground; and the people ate them with the…
Matthew 18:4(v17)Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Genesis 13:13(v18)Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh.
Genesis 15:16(v18)In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.”
Numbers 16:38(v18)even the censers of those who sinned against their own lives. Let them be beaten into plates for a covering of the altar, for they offered…
Job 31:3(v18)Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, and disaster to the workers of iniquity?
Proverbs 10:29(v18)The way of Yahweh is a stronghold to the upright, but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
Hosea 13:1(v17)When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel, but when he became guilty in Baal, he died.
1 Samuel 9:27(v16)As they were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” He went ahead, then Samuel…
1 Samuel 12:7(v16)Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before Yahweh concerning all the righteous acts of Yahweh, which he did to you and to…
1 Kings 22:16(v16)The king said to him, “How many times do I have to adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in Yahweh’s name?”
2 Chronicles 33:2(v19)He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
2 Chronicles 33:6(v19)He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft,…
2 Chronicles 36:12(v19)He did that which was evil in Yahweh his God’s sight. He didn’t humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from Yahweh’s mouth.
Proverbs 13:21(v18)Misfortune pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous.
Proverbs 15:27(v19)He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live.
Jeremiah 7:11(v19)Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it,” says Yahweh.
Habakkuk 2:9-12(v19)Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! You have…
2 Timothy 4:10(v19)for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia; and Titus to Dalmatia.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v17Meaning, of base condition, as 1 Sam. 9:21.
Meaning, of base condition, as 1 Sam. 9:21.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv16–191Sa 15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and…
1Sa 15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
Ver. 16. Stay, and I will tell thee.] Ministers must rebuke with all authority: neither may any despise them for so doing. {Tit 2:15} It is a treacherous flattery to soothe men up in their sins, and to sew pillows under their elbows.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv17–19Little in thine own sight, i.e. modest, humble, and…
Little in thine own sight, i.e. modest, humble, and submissive, as 1Sa 9:21; 10:22; whereby he implies that now he was grown proud, and stubborn, and impudent, both to commit sin and justify it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv16–19Then Samuel said unto Saul, stay,.... Stop a little,…
Then Samuel said unto Saul, stay,.... Stop a little, do not be in haste to be gone, as he might seem to be, fearing a reproof, and that something would be said to him not very agreeable; or "suffer" (c) me, that is, to speak, give me leave to say a few words; for Saul being a king, Samuel treats him as such, and asks audience of him, or leave of him to deliver what he had to say to him:
and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night; and since it was not anything from himself, but from the Lord, he had to say, he might expect the rather to be heard, and especially since it was what had lately, even that very night, been told him:
Read full note →
and he said unto him, say on; he gave him leave, perhaps hoping he should hear something said in his praise, commending him for what he had done in destroying the nation of Amalek, see Luk 7:40. There is a double reading of this clause, the Cetib or textural reading is, "and they said unto him"; meaning Saul, and the elders with him; the Keri, or marginal reading is, which we follow, "and he said unto him"; meaning Saul, as Kimchi notes.
(c) "permitte", Pagninus, Montanus; "sine me", V. L. so Abarbinel.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn v18A journey - So easy was the service, and…
A journey - So easy was the service, and so certain the success, that it was rather to be called a journey than a war.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn v17Verse 17. Little in thine own sight] Who can…
Verse 17. Little 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?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v181Sa 15:18-19. The Lord sent thee on a journey…
1Sa 15:18-19. The Lord sent thee on a journey — So easy was the service, and so certain the success, that it was rather to be called a journey than a war. Wherefore didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord? — The command was as plain as words could make it; and there was no reason but his own base covetousness why it was not obeyed.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv16, 18Samuel now acquiesces in the wisdom and justice of…
Samuel now acquiesces in the wisdom and justice of the sentence which 1Sa 15:11 he had so strenuously resisted at first. What before was known only to the Searcher of hearts, had now been displayed to Samuel by Saul himself.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn v17Eyes. God rejects the proud, and gives his grace…
Eyes. God rejects the proud, and gives his grace to the humble. See Luke i. 52. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv16–1716. Stay — Leave off these false pretences, desist…
16. Stay — Leave off these false pretences, desist from such hypocritical apologies, whilst, by the revelation of Him whom thou callest my God, I lay open the iniquities of thy heart and the disobedience of thy life.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv16–1816. Stay] Forbear! cease these flimsy excuses!
16. Stay] Forbear! cease these flimsy excuses!
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv16–19(16) Stay, and I will tell thee . .…
(16) Stay, and I will tell thee . . .—The king was probably turning away, desirous of closing an interview which to him was full of bitterness, when he was arrested
by the solemn words, and probably by the commanding gesture, of his old friend and counsellor, who now addressed him with the majesty and power of an accredited servant of the Most High.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv16–18Stay. Samuel will hear no more. Long as he…
Stay. Samuel will hear no more. Long as he had striven for him in prayer (ver. 11), he now feels that Saul has fallen too low for recovery to be possible. This night. It is plain from this that Samuel had not gone to meet Saul at Carmel, but on receiving information of his movements had proceeded straight to Gilgal, distant from Ramah about fifteen miles.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v17in your own sight
in your own sight
Here sight represents judgment or evaluation. AT: "in your own opinion" or "in your judgment" (See: Metaphor)
Read full note →
were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel?
Samuel uses this question to remind Saul of now much God had given him. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Yahweh made you the ruler of the tribes of Israel!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Why did you not obey ... Yahweh?
Samuel asks this question to rebuke Saul for disobeying Yahweh. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "You should have obeyed ... Yahweh!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
the voice of Yahweh
Here "voice" refers to the commands that Yahweh spoke. AT: "the things that Yahweh commanded" (See: Metonymy)
but instead you seized the booty
Samuel is accusing Saul of direct disobedience. Yahweh commanded Saul to completely destroy everything belonging to the Amalekites, and not to bring anything back to camp.
the booty
"the plunder" or "the possessions you took from the enemy"
what was evil in the sight of Yahweh
Here "sight" refers to Yahweh's thoughts or opinion. AT: "what Yahweh considers to be evil" or "what is evil in Yahweh's judgement" (See: Metaphor)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v1715:17 As the anointed . . . king of…
15:17 As the anointed . . . king of Israel, Saul bore the responsibility for disobeying God, which neither false humility nor making excuses could diminish.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v17 Meaning, of base condition, as 1 Sam. 9:21.
Meaning, of base condition, as 1 Sam. 9:21.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv16–19 1Sa 15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and…
1Sa 15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
Ver. 16. Stay, and I will tell thee.] Ministers must rebuke with all authority: neither may any despise them for so doing. {Tit 2:15} It is a treacherous flattery to soothe men up in their sins, and to sew pillows under their elbows.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv17–19 Little in thine own sight, i.e. modest, humble, and…
Little in thine own sight, i.e. modest, humble, and submissive, as 1Sa 9:21; 10:22; whereby he implies that now he was grown proud, and stubborn, and impudent, both to commit sin and justify it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv16–19 Then Samuel said unto Saul, stay,.... Stop a little,…
Then Samuel said unto Saul, stay,.... Stop a little, do not be in haste to be gone, as he might seem to be, fearing a reproof, and that something would be said to him not very agreeable; or "suffer" (c) me, that is, to speak, give me leave to say a few words; for Saul being a king, Samuel treats him as such, and asks audience of him, or leave of him to deliver what he had to say to him:
and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night; and since it was not anything from himself, but from the Lord, he had to say, he might expect the rather to be heard, and especially since it was what had lately, even that very night, been told him:
Read full note →
and he said unto him, say on; he gave him leave, perhaps hoping he should hear something said in his praise, commending him for what he had done in destroying the nation of Amalek, see Luk 7:40. There is a double reading of this clause, the Cetib or textural reading is, "and they said unto him"; meaning Saul, and the elders with him; the Keri, or marginal reading is, which we follow, "and he said unto him"; meaning Saul, as Kimchi notes.
(c) "permitte", Pagninus, Montanus; "sine me", V. L. so Abarbinel.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v18 A journey - So easy was the service, and…
A journey - So easy was the service, and so certain the success, that it was rather to be called a journey than a war.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v17 Verse 17. Little in thine own sight] Who can…
Verse 17. Little 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?
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v18 1Sa 15:18-19. The Lord sent thee on a journey…
1Sa 15:18-19. The Lord sent thee on a journey — So easy was the service, and so certain the success, that it was rather to be called a journey than a war. Wherefore didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord? — The command was as plain as words could make it; and there was no reason but his own base covetousness why it was not obeyed.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv16, 18 Samuel now acquiesces in the wisdom and justice of…
Samuel now acquiesces in the wisdom and justice of the sentence which 1Sa 15:11 he had so strenuously resisted at first. What before was known only to the Searcher of hearts, had now been displayed to Samuel by Saul himself.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v17 Eyes. God rejects the proud, and gives his grace…
Eyes. God rejects the proud, and gives his grace to the humble. See Luke i. 52. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv16–17 16. Stay — Leave off these false pretences, desist…
16. Stay — Leave off these false pretences, desist from such hypocritical apologies, whilst, by the revelation of Him whom thou callest my God, I lay open the iniquities of thy heart and the disobedience of thy life.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv16–18 16. Stay] Forbear! cease these flimsy excuses!
16. Stay] Forbear! cease these flimsy excuses!
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv16–19 (16) Stay, and I will tell thee . .…
(16) Stay, and I will tell thee . . .—The king was probably turning away, desirous of closing an interview which to him was full of bitterness, when he was arrested
by the solemn words, and probably by the commanding gesture, of his old friend and counsellor, who now addressed him with the majesty and power of an accredited servant of the Most High.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv16–18 Stay. Samuel will hear no more. Long as he…
Stay. Samuel will hear no more. Long as he had striven for him in prayer (ver. 11), he now feels that Saul has fallen too low for recovery to be possible. This night. It is plain from this that Samuel had not gone to meet Saul at Carmel, but on receiving information of his movements had proceeded straight to Gilgal, distant from Ramah about fifteen miles.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v17 in your own sight
in your own sight
Here sight represents judgment or evaluation. AT: "in your own opinion" or "in your judgment" (See: Metaphor)
Read full note →
were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel?
Samuel uses this question to remind Saul of now much God had given him. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Yahweh made you the ruler of the tribes of Israel!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Why did you not obey ... Yahweh?
Samuel asks this question to rebuke Saul for disobeying Yahweh. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "You should have obeyed ... Yahweh!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
the voice of Yahweh
Here "voice" refers to the commands that Yahweh spoke. AT: "the things that Yahweh commanded" (See: Metonymy)
but instead you seized the booty
Samuel is accusing Saul of direct disobedience. Yahweh commanded Saul to completely destroy everything belonging to the Amalekites, and not to bring anything back to camp.
the booty
"the plunder" or "the possessions you took from the enemy"
what was evil in the sight of Yahweh
Here "sight" refers to Yahweh's thoughts or opinion. AT: "what Yahweh considers to be evil" or "what is evil in Yahweh's judgement" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
head
tribe
sin
obey
voice
evil
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v17 15:17 As the anointed . . . king of…
15:17 As the anointed . . . king of Israel, Saul bore the responsibility for disobeying God, which neither false humility nor making excuses could diminish.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.