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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)Early the next morning, Shemuel got up to meet Sha’ul, but someone told him, “Sha’ul went to Karmel, and wow, he set up a monument to himself. Then he turned around and went to Gilgal.”
Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΚαὶ ὤρθρισε Σαμουὴλ, καὶ ἐπορεύθη εἰς ἀπάντησιν Ἰσραὴλ το πρωΐ· καὶ ἀπηγγέλη τῷ Σαοὺλ, λέγοντες ἥκει Σαμουὴλ εἰς Κάρμηλον, καὶ ἀνέστακεν αὐτῷ χεῖρα· καὶ ἐπέστρεψε τὸ ἅρμα, καὶ κατέβη εἰς Γάλγαλα πρὸς Σαούλ, καὶ ἰδοὺ αὐτὸς ἀνέφερεν ὁλοκαύτωσιν τῷ Κυρίῳ, τὰ πρῶτα τῶν σκύλων ἤνεγκεν ἐξ ʼΑμαλήκ. (Kai ōrthrise Samouaʸl, kai eporeuthaʸ eis apantaʸsin Israaʸl to prōi; kai apaʸngelaʸ tōi Saʼoul, legontes haʸkei Samouaʸl eis Karmaʸlon, kai anestaken autōi ⱪeira; kai epestrepse to harma, kai katebaʸ eis Galgala pros Saoul, kai idou autos aneferen holokautōsin tōi Kuriōi, ta prōta tōn skulōn aʸnegken ex ʼAmalaʸk. )
BrTrAnd Samuel rose early and went to meet Israel in the morning, and it was told [fn]Saul, [fn]saying, Samuel has come to Carmel, and he has [fn]raised up help for himself: and he turned his chariot, and came down to Galgala to Saul; and, behold, he was offering up a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord, the chief of the spoils which he brought out of Amalec.
ULTAnd Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul. And it was told to Samuel, saying, “Saul came to the Carmel, and behold, he is setting up a monument for himself! And he turned around and passed over and went down to the Gilgal.”
USTEarly the next morning, Samuel got up and went to talk with Saul. But someone told Samuel, “Saul went to the city of Carmel, where he has set up a monument to honor himself. Now he has left there and gone down to Gilgal.”
BSB § Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and behold, he has set up a monument for himself and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.”
OEBEarly in the morning Samuel rose to meet Saul. Then Samuel was told, ‘Saul came to Carmel and has just set up a monument to himself and has turned and passed on and gone down to Gilgal.’
WEBBESamuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and Samuel was told, saying, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, turned, passed on, and went down to Gilgal.”
NETThen Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, “Saul has gone to Carmel where he is setting up a monument for himself. Then Samuel left and went down to Gilgal.”
LSVAnd Samuel rises early to meet Saul in the morning, and it is declared to Samuel, saying, “Saul has come to Carmel, and behold, he is setting up a monument to himself, and goes around, and passes over, and goes down to Gilgal.”
FBVSamuel got up early in the morning and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul's gone to Carmel. There he's even erected a monument to honor himself, and now he's left and gone down to Gilgal.”
T4TEarly the next morning, Samuel got up and went to talk with Saul. But someone told Samuel, “Saul went to Camel city, where he has set up a monument to honor himself. Now he has left there and gone down to Gilgal.”
LEBThen Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul. Samuel was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and look, he is setting up a monument for himself.” Then he turned around and crossed over and went down to Gilgal.
BBEAnd early in the morning he got up and went to Saul; and word was given to Samuel that Saul had come to Carmel and put up a pillar, and had gone from there down to Gilgal.
JPSAnd Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying: 'Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he is setting him up a monument, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.'
ASVAnd Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.
DRAAnd when Samuel rose early, to go to Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, that Saul was come to Carmel, and had erected for himself a triumphant arch, and returning had passed on, and gone down to Galgal. And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul was offering a holocaust to the Lord out of the choicest of the spoils which he had brought from Amalec.
YLTAnd Samuel riseth early to meet Saul in the morning, and it is declared to Samuel, saying, 'Saul hath come in to Carmel, and lo, he is setting up to himself a monument, and goeth round, and passeth over, and goeth down to Gilgal.'
DrbyAnd Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a monument, and has turned about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
RVAnd Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
WbstrAnd when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a place, and has gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
KJB-1769And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
KJB-1611And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was tolde Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him vp a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone downe to Gilgal. (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
BshpsAnd whe Samuel rose early to meete Saul in the morning, it was tolde Samuel that Saul was come to Carmel, and beholde, he hath made him there a place, and is returned, and departed and gone downe to Gilgal. (And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel that Saul was come to Carmel, and behold, he hath/has made him there a place, and is returned, and departed and gone down to Gilgal.)
GnvaAnd when Samuel arose early to meete Saul in the morning, one tolde Samuel, saying, Saul is gone to Carmel: and beholde, he hath made him there a place, from whence he returned, and departed, and is gone downe to Gilgal. (And when Samuel arose early to meet Saul in the morning, one told Samuel, saying, Saul is gone to Carmel: and behold, he hath/has made him there a place, from whence he returned, and departed, and is gone down to Gilgal. )
CvdlAnd Samuel gat him vp early, that he might mete Saul in ye mornynge. And it was tolde him, that Saul was come vnto Carmel, & had set him vp a piler, and was gone aboute, and come downe to Gilgall. (And Samuel gat him up early, that he might meet Saul in ye/you_all morning. And it was told him, that Saul was come unto Carmel, and had set him up a pillar, and was gone about, and come down to Gilgall.)
WyclAnd whanne Samuel hadde rise bi nyyt to go eerly to Saul, it was teld to Samuel, that Saul hadde come in to Carmel, and hadde reisid to hym a signe of victorye; and that he hadde turned ayen, and hadde passid, and hadde go doun in to Galgala. Therfor Samuel cam to Saul, and Saul offride brent sacrifice to the Lord of the cheef thingis of preies, whiche he hadde brouyt fro Amalech. (And when Samuel had rise by night to go eerly to Saul, it was teld to Samuel, that Saul had come in to Carmel, and had reisid to him a sign of victorye; and that he had turned again, and had passed, and had go down in to Galgala. Therefore Samuel came to Saul, and Saul offride burnt sacrifice to the Lord of the cheef things of preies, which he had brought from Amalech.)
LuthUnd Samuel machte sich frühe auf, daß er Saul am Morgen begegnete. Und ihm ward angesagt, daß Saul gen Karmel kommen wäre und hätte ihm ein Siegeszeichen aufgerichtet und wäre herumgezogen und gen Gilgal hinabkommen. (And Samuel made itself/yourself/themselves early on, that he Saul in/at/on_the Morgen begegnete. And him what/which angesagt, that Saul to/toward Karmel coming wäre and would_have him a Siegeszeichen aufgerichtet and wäre herumgezogen and to/toward Gilgal hinabkommen.)
ClVgCumque de nocte surrexisset Samuel ut iret ad Saul mane, nuntiatum est Samueli eo quod venisset Saul in Carmelum, et erexisset sibi fornicem triumphalem, et reversus transisset, descendissetque in Galgala. Venit ergo Samuel ad Saul, et Saul offerebat holocaustum Domino de initiis prædarum quæ attulerat ex Amalec. (Cumque about nocte surrexisset Samuel as iret to Saul mane, nuntiatum it_is Samueli eo that venisset Saul in Carmelum, and erexisset sibi fornicem triumphalem, and returned transisset, descendissetque in Galgala. Venit therefore Samuel to Saul, and Saul offerebat holocaustum Master about initiis prædarum which attulerat from Amalec. )
15:12Carmel was a town near Hebron in southern Judah. • Saul commemorated his own accomplishments by erecting a monument to himself. In reality, he had earned shame (15:16-19). • Gilgal: See 13:4.
God instructed Saul to “completely destroy” the Amalekites, who had ambushed the Israelites after the Exodus (see Exod 17:8-16; Deut 25:17-19). The Hebrew word kharam (“completely destroy”) often means dedicating something or someone completely to the Lord, either by destroying it (1 Sam 15:3; Josh 6:17-18) or by giving it as an offering (see Lev 27:28-29; Josh 6:19).
Complete destruction was called for in cases where those to be destroyed had committed a severe offense against God, such as worshiping false gods (Deut 7:1-6; 13:12-18). In 1 Samuel 15:3, complete destruction is prescribed as God’s judgment on a nation that mistreated his chosen people. Those who curse God’s family are, in turn, cursed (Gen 12:3).
God still judges the godless and impenitent. But in the new covenant, Christians are not called to be agents of such judgment. God calls us to exercise his mercy toward those who wrong us (see Luke 9:51-56). We must completely destroy whatever within ourselves wars against Christ (Rom 8:12-13; Col 3:5). And we must overcome the enemies of Christ by our faith, by the Good News, and by our love (Eph 6:10-20; 1 Jn 2:9-17). God will mete out judgment according to his justice and in his time (Rom 12:19; 2 Thes 1:6-10).
Saul’s war against the Amalekites exemplifies many of the key traits–good and bad–of Saul’s leadership over Israel. Immediately before the story is recounted, the author notes that during Saul’s entire reign he fought valiantly against Israel’s enemies on every side (1 Samuel 14:47-52), and he amassed an army of skilled soldiers. Thus, Saul fulfilled one of the primary reasons the people demanded that Samuel appoint a king over them (1 Samuel 8). Then the author notes that the Lord, through Samuel, directed Saul to attack the Amalekites and utterly destroy them and their belongings as punishment for their cruel attack on the Israelites after they left Egypt to travel to Mount Sinai (Exodus 17; Deuteronomy 25:17-19). So Saul mustered a large number of troops at a place called Telaim and traveled to an otherwise unknown “city of the Amalekites” and lay in lay in wait for them in a valley. Saul also warned the Kenites, the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law Hobab (also called Jethro), to move away from the Amalekites so they would not be killed in the coming battle. It appears that the Kenites had remained on good terms with the Israelites since the time of Hobab/Jethro and accompanied them as they entered the Promised Land, eventually settling among the Amalekites in the Negev near Arad (Judges 1:16). Saul defeated the Amalekites, pursuing them “from Havilah as far as Shur,” according the the Hebrew text. The region of Havilah, however, was several hundred miles from the Negev, making it unlikely to be the place to which Saul pursued them, and this is underscored by the Septuagint’s substitution of “Elath” for “Havilah”. It is possible that the author was using this phrase as a hyperbolic merism to indicate that Saul pursued the Amalekites throughout the entire land in which they lived (see also Genesis 25:18 regarding the Ishmaelites). But since elsewhere in Scripture the Amalekites are said to live in the Negev and in southern Canaan (Genesis 14:7; Numbers 13:29; 14:45; Judges 1:16), another possibility is that the “Havilah” reading is a textual corruption. The Septuagint translators may have preserved the original reading of “Elath,” or they may have been making their best guess as to the intended location. Simply based on the similarity of spelling and the geography of the region (as shown on this map), it is possible that the original reading was “Hachilah,” a hill where David would later have some close encounters with Saul during his time in the wilderness (1 Samuel 23:19; 26:1). In any case, Saul and his men thoroughly defeated the Amalekites, but they failed to completely destroy them (see 1 Samuel 30) and their belongings. Instead they took King Agag alive and kept the best of the spoils. After this Saul traveled to Carmel and set up a monument for himself, and then he continued on to Gilgal. When Samuel arrived in Gilgal, however, he was angry with Saul for failing to devote all of the Amalekites and their goods to destruction, and he told Saul that the Lord regretted having made him king. Samuel then killed King Agag himself at Gilgal and returned to his home in Ramah. Saul returned to his home in Gibeah, but Samuel never spoke with Saul again.
