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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)“Yes, I’ve sinned,” Sha’ulresponded. “I can see that I’ve disobeyed Yahweh’s instruction, and yours too, because I feared the people and did what they were requesting.
Key: khaki:verbs, 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 Σαοὺλ πρὸς Σαμουὴλ, ἡμάρτηκα, ὅτι παρέβην τὸν λόγον Κυρίου καὶ τὸ ῥῆμά σου, ὅτι ἐφοβήθην τὸν λαὸν, καὶ ἤκουσα τῆς φωνῆς αὐτῶν. (Kai eipe Saʼoul pros Samouaʸl, haʸmartaʸka, hoti parebaʸn ton logon Kuriou kai to ɽaʸma sou, hoti efobaʸthaʸn ton laon, kai aʸkousa taʸs fōnaʸs autōn. )
BrTrAnd Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, in that I have transgressed the word of the Lord and thy direction; for I feared the people, and I hearkened to their voice.
ULTAnd Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned! For I have passed over the mouth of Yahweh and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.
USTThen Saul said to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I disobeyed what you told me to do, which is what Yahweh commanded. I did that because I was afraid of what my men would say if I did not do what they wanted. So I did what they demanded.
BSB § Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
OEBAnd Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned, for I have transgressed the command of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and listened to their voice.
WEBBESaul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
NETThen Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and what you said as well. For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes.
LSVAnd Saul says to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I passed over the command of YHWH, and your words; because I have feared the people, I also listen to their voice;
FBV“I have sinned,” Saul confessed to Samuel. “I disobeyed the Lord's orders and your instructions, because I was afraid of the people and followed what they said.
T4TThen Saul said to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I disobeyed what you told me to do, which is what Yahweh commanded. I did that because I was ◄afraid of/worried about► what my men would say if I did not do what they wanted. So I did what they demanded.
LEBThen Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned because I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh[fn] and your words, for I feared the troops and I listened to their voice.
BBEAnd Saul said to Samuel, Great is my sin: for I have gone against the orders of the Lord and against your words: because, fearing the people, I did what they said.
JPSAnd Saul said unto Samuel: 'I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words; because I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice.
ASVAnd Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
DRAAnd Saul said to Samuel: I have sinned because I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words, fearing the people, and obeying their voice.
YLTAnd Saul saith unto Samuel, 'I have sinned, for I passed over the command of Jehovah, and thy words; because I have feared the people, I also hearken to their voice;
DrbyAnd Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words; for I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice.
RVAnd Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
WbstrAnd Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words; because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
KJB-1769¶ And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. (¶ And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy/your words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. )
KJB-1611¶ And Saul said vnto Samuel, I haue sinned: for I haue transgressed the Commandement of the LORD, and thy wordes; because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. (¶ And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the Commandement of the LORD, and thy/your words; because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.)
BshpsAnd Saul sayde vnto Samuel, I haue sinned: For I haue gone farther then the saying of the Lorde and thy wordes, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voyce. (And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: For I have gone farther then the saying of the Lord and thy/your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.)
GnvaThen Saul sayde vnto Samuel, I haue sinned: for I haue transgressed the commandement of the Lord, and thy wordes, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voyce. (Then Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy/your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. )
CvdlThen sayde Saul vnto Samuel: I haue synned, yt I haue transgressed the commaundement of the LORDE and thy worde: for I was afrayed of the people, and herkened vnto their voyce. (Then said Saul unto Samuel: I have sinned, it I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and thy/your word: for I was afraid of the people, and herkened unto their voice.)
WycAnd Saul seide to Samuel, Y synnede, for Y brak the word of the Lord, and thi wordis; `and Y dredde the puple, `and obeiede to `the vois of hem; but now, (And Saul said to Samuel, I sinned, for I brak the word of the Lord, and thy/your words; `and I dreaded the people, `and obeyed to `the voice of hem; but now,)
LuthDa sprach Saul zu Samuel: Ich habe gesündiget, daß ich des HErr’s Befehl und deine Worte übergangen habe; denn ich fürchtete das Volk und gehorchte ihrer Stimme. (So spoke Saul to Samuel: I have gesündiget, that I the LORD’s command and your words übergangen have; because I fürchtete the people and gehorchte of_their/her Stimme.)
ClVgDixitque Saul ad Samuelem: Peccavi, quia prævaricatus sum sermonem Domini et verba tua, timens populum, et obediens voci eorum. (And_he_said Saul to Samuelem: Peccavi, because prævaricatus I_am conversation Master and words tua, timens the_people, and obediens voci their. )
15:24I was afraid of the people: Saul continued to blame others (see 15:15, 21). • what they demanded: There is no hint of such pressure in the chapter. Saul’s confession appears dishonest (cp. David, 2 Sam 12:13; Ps 51).
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 Shāʼūl to/towards Shəmūʼēl sinned that/for/because/then/when transgressed DOM command YHWH and=DOM words,your that/for/because/then/when feared DOM the,people and,obeyed in/on/at/with,voice,their )
This is an idiom that means he had disobeyed the commandment. Alternate translation: “I have disobeyed what Yahweh commanded”
(Occurrence 0) because I was afraid of the people
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said Shāʼūl to/towards Shəmūʼēl sinned that/for/because/then/when transgressed DOM command YHWH and=DOM words,your that/for/because/then/when feared DOM the,people and,obeyed in/on/at/with,voice,their )
This is the reason Saul gives for not obeying God. Alternate translation: “because I was afraid of the soldiers”
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said Shāʼūl to/towards Shəmūʼēl sinned that/for/because/then/when transgressed DOM command YHWH and=DOM words,your that/for/because/then/when feared DOM the,people and,obeyed in/on/at/with,voice,their )
Here “voice” refers to what the soldiers asked Saul to do. Alternate translation: “did what they asked”
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.
