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; 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.’ Why then didn’t you obey Yahweh’s voice, but took the plunder, and did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight?”
Parallel Translations
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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;
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.’
Why then didn’t you obey Yahweh’s voice, but took the plunder, and did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight?”
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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?
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.
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
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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;
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.
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?'
Cross-references (21)
- 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 21 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.
- 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.
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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 vv17–19 1Sa 15:17 And Samuel said, When thou [wast] little…
1Sa 15:17 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?
Ver. 17. When thou wast little in thine own sight.] There is an ingratitude in every sin, and that is to be considered. Good turns aggravate unkindnesses: and our offences are increased by our obligations.
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 vv17–19 And Samuel said, when thou wast little in thine…
And Samuel said, when thou wast little in thine own sight,.... Humble and lowly, and had a mean opinion of himself, his family and tribe, and judged himself unworthy of the kingdom; see Sa1 9:21 suggesting, that now he was proud and haughty, and would have his own will and way:
wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel; not of his own tribe only, which was the least, but of all the tribes, and so they were all subject to him, and at his command:
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and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel; all which is observed, partly to point out unto him the high honour he was raised unto, from a low estate, which laid him under obligation to serve the Lord, and obey him; and partly as an answer to him, excusing himself, and laying the blame upon the people; whereas seeing he was made king over them, his business was to rule and govern them, guide and direct them in the right way, and restrain them from that which was evil; and since he was anointed by the Lord, and not by the people, he ought to have obeyed him, and not regarded the pleasure of them.
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 v18 The sinners - As though God would justify His…
The sinners - As though God would justify His commission to destroy them. (Compare Gen 13:13.)
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 v17 17. Little in thine own sight — As was…
17. Little in thine own sight — As was manifested in his modest response to Samuel’s first salutation. 1Sa_9:21.
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 vv17–18 17. When thou wast little] Is it not the…
17. When thou wast little] Is it not the case that though thou wast little in thine own eyes, thou hast been made head of the tribes of Israel? There is a reference to Saul’s own words of astonishment that he should be chosen as king (1Sa_9:21). The prophet desires to remind him that as his elevation came solely from God, obedience was due to God. There is a curious tradition preserved in the Targum, that Saul’s elevation was a reward for the courage of the tribe of Benjamin at the passage of the Red Sea, when they sought to pass over first.
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 vv17–19 (17) When thou wast little in thine own sight.—Kimchi’s…
(17) When thou wast little in thine own sight.—Kimchi’s rendering of the Hebrew here is singular: “Though thou seemest to thyself too little and weak to curb the people, yet wast thou the head, and shouldest have done thy duty;” but this, as Lange observes, would imply that Samuel had accepted Saul’s excuse that it was the people’s will to reserve the choicest spoil. The prophet’s words, however, were simply to remind Saul that the Lord, whose clearly expressed will he had disregarded, had raised him in bygone days from a comparatively humble station to the proud position he was then occupying as chief of Israel. The old counsellor reminds the king that there had been a time when he judged himself unequal to this great work to which his God summoned him; but now, how strange the contrast! Flushed with success, he was trusting alone in his unaided strength, and openly disobeying the Divine commands.
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 vv17–18 When rather, Thoughthou wast little in thine own sight.…
When rather, Thoughthou wast little in thine own sight. Before his elevation to the royal dignity Saul had deemed himself altogether unequal to so heavy a task; (1Sa_9:21) now, after great military successes, he is filled with arrogance, and will rule in open defiance of the conditions upon which Jehovah had appointed him to the office
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)
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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.