^15:16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute!²² Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul²³ said to him, “Tell me.” ^15:17Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose²⁴ you as king over Israel. ^15:18The Lord sent you on a campaign²⁵ saying, ‘Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you²⁶ have destroyed them.’ ^15:19Why haven’t you obeyed²⁷ the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord’s estimation.”²⁸

^15:20Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed²⁹ the Lord! I went on the campaign³⁰ the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. ^15:21But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle—the best of what was to be slaughtered—to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

^15:22Then Samuel said,

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as he does in obedience?³¹

Certainly,³² obedience³³ is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than³⁴ the fat of rams.

^15:23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as³⁵ king.”

^15:24Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded³⁶ and what you said as well.³⁷ For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes.³⁸

Read in Logos

1 Samuel 15:22: “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.”

Footnotes

22 Or perhaps “be quiet.”
23 The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew in reading the singular (“he said”) rather than the plural (“they said”) of the Kethib. Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 Heb “anointed.”
25 Heb “journey.”
26 The translation follows the , the , and the in reading the second person singular suffix (“you”) rather than the third person plural suffix of the (“they”).
27 Heb “listened to the voice of the Lord.”
28 Heb “you have done what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
29 Heb “listened to the voice of the Lord.”
30 Heb “journey.”
31 Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”
32 Heb “look.”
33 Heb “listening.”
34 The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).
35 Or “from [being].”
36 Heb “the mouth of the Lord.”
37 Heb “and your words.”
38 Heb “and I listened to their voice.”