Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)So Shemuel told him, “Although you consider yourself insignificant, aren’t you the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you as king over Israel,
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative, green:YHWH.
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 εἶπε Σαμουὴλ πρὸς Σαούλ, οὐχὶ μικρὸς εἶ σὺ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, ἡγούμενος σκήπτρου φυλῆς Ἰσραήλ; καὶ ἔχρισέ σε Κύριος εἰς βασιλέα ἐπὶ Ἰσραήλ. (Kai eipe Samouaʸl pros Saoul, ouⱪi mikros ei su enōpion autou, haʸgoumenos skaʸptrou fulaʸs Israaʸl; kai eⱪrise se Kurios eis basilea epi Israaʸl. )
BrTrAnd Samuel said to Saul, Art thou not little in his eyes, though a leader of [fn]one of the tribes of Israel? and yet the Lord anointed thee to be king over Israel.
15:17Gr. staff of a tribe. A double rendering of שבט i. e. both staff and tribe.
ULTAnd Samuel said, “Although you are small in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? And Yahweh anointed you as king over Israel.
USTSamuel said, “Previously you did not think that you were important. But now you have become the leader of the tribes of Israel. Yahweh appointed you to be their king.
BSB § And Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, have you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel
OEBSamuel said, ‘Though you are little in your own sight, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel,
WEBBESamuel said, “Though you were little in your own sight, weren’t you made the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel;
NETSamuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose you as king over Israel.
LSVAnd Samuel says, “Are you not, if you [are] little in your own eyes, head of the tribes of Israel? And YHWH anoints you for king over Israel,
FBV“Once you didn't use to think much of yourself, but haven't you become the leader of the tribes of Israel?” Samuel asked. “The Lord anointed you king of Israel.
T4TSamuel said, “Previously you did not think that you were important. But now you have become [RHQ] the leader of the tribes of Israel. Yahweh appointed you to be their king.
LEBSamuel said, “Even though you are small in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh has anointed you as king over Israel.
BBEAnd Samuel said, Though you may seem little to yourself, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord with the holy oil made you king over Israel,
JPSAnd 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;
ASVAnd Samuel said, Though thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel;
DRAAnd Samuel said: When thou wast a little one in thy own eyes, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed thee to be king over Israel.
YLTAnd Samuel saith, 'Art not thou, if thou [art] little in thine own eyes, head of the tribes of Israel? and Jehovah doth anoint thee for king over Israel,
DrbyAnd Samuel said, Was it not when thou wast little in thine eyes that thou [becamest] the head of the tribes of Israel, and Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel?
RVAnd Samuel said, Though 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;
WbstrAnd Samuel said, When thou wast little in thy own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
KJB-1769And 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 Samuel said, When thou/you wast little in thine/your own sight, wast thou/you not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee/you king over Israel? )
KJB-1611And Samuel said, When thou wast litle in thine owne sight, wast thou not made the Head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee King ouer Israel? (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)
BshpsSamuel said: When thou wast litle in thyne owne sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lorde annoynted thee kyng ouer Israel? (Samuel said: When thou/you wast little in thine/your own sight, wast thou/you not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee/you king over Israel?)
GnvaThen Samuel saide, When thou wast litle in thine owne sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord anointed thee King ouer Israel. (Then Samuel said, When thou/you wast little in thine/your own sight, wast thou/you not made the head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord anointed thee/you King over Israel. )
CvdlSamuel sayde: Whan thou wast but small in thine awne eyes, wast thou not ye heade amoge the trybes of Israel? & the LORDE anoynted the to be kynge ouer Israel? (Samuel said: When thou/you wast but small in thine/your own eyes, wast thou/you not ye/you_all head among the tribes of Israel? and the LORD anointed the to be king over Israel?)
WyclAnd Samuel seide, Whether not, whanne thou were litil in thin iyen, thou were maade heed in the lynages of Israel, and the Lord anoyntide thee in to kyng on Israel; (And Samuel said, Whether not, when thou/you were little in thin eyes, thou/you were madee heed in the lynages of Israel, and the Lord anointede thee/you in to king on Israel;)
LuthSamuel sprach: Ist‘s nicht also, da du klein warest vor deinen Augen, wurdest du das Haupt unter den Stämmen Israels, und der HErr salbte dich zum König über Israel? (Samuel spoke: Ist‘s not also, there you klein warest before/in_front_of deinen Augen, wurdest you the head under the Stämmen Israels, and the/of_the LORD salbte you/yourself for_the king above Israel?)
ClVgEt ait Samuel: Nonne cum parvulus esses in oculis tuis, caput in tribubus Israël factus es? unxitque te Dominus in regem super Israël,[fn] (And he_said Samuel: Isn't_it when/with parvulus esses in oculis tuis, caput in tribubus Israel factus es? unxitque you(sg) Master in regem over Israel, )
15.17Nonne cum. GREG., lib. XXXIV Moral., et apud Euch. Parvulus est in oculis suis, etc., usque ad unde: Ducem te constituerunt, noli extolli, sed esto quasi unus ex illis.
15.17Isn't_it cum. GREG., lib. XXXIV Moral., and apud Euch. Parvulus it_is in oculis to_his_own, etc., until to unde: Ducem you(sg) constituerunt, noli extolli, but esto as_if unus from illis.
15:17 As the anointed . . . king of Israel, Saul bore the responsibility for disobeying God, which neither false humility nor making excuses could diminish.
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).
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said Shəmūʼēl am=not if little you(ms) in/on/at/with,eyes,your_own head tribes Yisrael you(ms) and,anointed,you YHWH as,king on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in Yisrael )
Here sight represents judgment or evaluation. Alternate translation: “in your own opinion” or “in your judgment”
(Occurrence 0) were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel?
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said Shəmūʼēl am=not if little you(ms) in/on/at/with,eyes,your_own head tribes Yisrael you(ms) and,anointed,you YHWH as,king on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in Yisrael )
Samuel uses this question to remind Saul of now much God had given him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this question as a statement. Alternate translation: “Yahweh made you the ruler of the tribes of Israel!”
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.
