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1Sa Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31
1Sa 15 V1 V2 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34 V35
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=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) So go now and attack Amalek and destroy them completely without compassion, putting men and women, children and infants to death, along with their cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”
OET-LV Now go and_attack DOM ˊAmālēq and_utterly_destroy DOM all that to_him/it and_not you_must_have_compassion on/upon/above_him/it and_kill from_man unto a_woman from_child and_unto a_sucking_child from_ox and_unto a_sheep from_camel and_unto a_donkey.
UHB עַתָּה֩ לֵ֨ךְ וְהִכִּֽיתָ֜ה אֶת־עֲמָלֵ֗ק וְהַֽחֲרַמְתֶּם֙ אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ל עָלָ֑יו וְהֵמַתָּ֞ה מֵאִ֣ישׁ עַד־אִשָּׁ֗ה מֵֽעֹלֵל֙ וְעַד־יוֹנֵ֔ק מִשּׁ֣וֹר וְעַד־שֶׂ֔ה מִגָּמָ֖ל וְעַד־חֲמֽוֹר׃ס ‡
(ˊattāh lēk vəhikkitāh ʼet-ˊₐmālēq vəhaḩₐramtem ʼet-kāl-ʼₐsher-lō vəloʼ taḩmol ˊālāyv vəhēmattāh mēʼiysh ˊad-ʼishshāh mēˊolēl vəˊad-yōnēq mishshōr vəˊad-seh miggāmāl vəˊad-ḩₐmōr.ş)
Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
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).
ULT Now go and strike down Amalek and completely destroy all that is for him, and do not have compassion on him. But put to death from man as far as woman, from child and as far as infant, from ox and as far as sheep, from camel and as far as donkey.’ ”
UST So now go with your army and attack the Amalek people group. Destroy them completely—destroy them and everything that belongs to them—the men and women, their children and infants, their cattle and sheep and camels and donkeys. Do not spare any of them!’ ”
BSB Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction [fn] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”
15:3 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also in verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20, and 21.
OEB Now go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have. Spare no one but slay both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” ’
WEBBE Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and don’t spare them; but kill both man and woman, infant and nursing baby, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
WMBB (Same as above)
NET So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don’t spare them. Put them to death – man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.’ ”
LSV Now go, and you have struck Amalek, and devoted all that he has, and you have no pity on him, and have put to death from man to woman, from infant to suckling, from ox to sheep, from camel to donkey.”
FBV Go and attack the Amalekites and exterminate all of them. Don't spare anyone, but kill every man, woman, child, and baby; every ox, sheep, camel, and donkey.”
T4T So now go with your army and attack the Amalek people-group. Destroy them completely—destroy them and everything that belongs to them—the men and women, their children and infants, their cattle and sheep and camels and donkeys. Do not ◄spare any of them/allow any of them to remain alive►!’ ”
LEB So then, go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that is his! You must not spare him, but kill both man and woman, both child and nursing infant, both ox and sheep, both camel and donkey.’ ”
BBE Go now and put Amalek to the sword, putting to the curse all they have, without mercy: put to death every man and woman, every child and baby at the breast, every ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Moff No Moff 1SA book available
JPS Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.'
ASV Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
DRA Now therefore go, and smite Amalec, and utterly destroy all that he hath: spare him not, nor covet any thing that is his: but slay both man and woman, child and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
YLT Now, go, and thou hast smitten Amalek, and devoted all that it hath, and thou hast no pity on it, and hast put to death from man unto woman, from infant unto suckling, from ox unto sheep, from camel unto ass.'
Drby Now go and smite Amalek, and destroy utterly all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
RV Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Wbstr Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
KJB-1769 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
KJB-1611 Now goe, and smite Amalek, and vtterly destroy all that they haue, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, oxe and sheepe, camell and asse.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)
Bshps Nowe therfore go, and smyte Amalek, and destroye ye all that pertaineth vnto them, and haue no compassion on them, slay both man & woman, infant and suckling, oxe and sheepe, camel and asse.
(Now therefore go, and smite Amalek, and destroy ye/you_all all that pertaineth unto them, and have no compassion on them, slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.)
Gnva Nowe therefore goe, and sinite Amalek, and destroy ye all that perteyneth vnto them, and haue no compassion on them, but slay both man and woman, both infant and suckling, both oxe, and sheepe, both camell, and asse.
(Now therefore go, and sinite Amalek, and destroy ye/you_all all that pertaineth/pertains unto them, and have no compassion on them, but slay both man and woman, both infant and suckling, both oxe, and sheep, both camell, and ass. )
Cvdl Go yi waye now therfore, and smyte the Amalechites, & damne them with all that they haue, & spare him not: but slaye both man and woman, children & sucklynges, oxen & shepe, Camels and asses.
(Go yi way now therefore, and smite the Amalechites, and damne them with all that they have, and spare him not: but slay/kill both man and woman, children and sucklynges, oxen and sheep, Camels and asses.)
Wyc Now therfor go thou, and sle Amalech, and distruye thou alle `thingis of hym; spare thou not hym, and coueyte thou not ony thing of hise thingis; but sle thou fro man `til to womman, and a litil child, and soukynge, an oxe, and scheep, and camel, and asse.
(Now therefore go thou/you, and slay/kill Amalech, and distruye thou/you all `thingis of him; spare thou/you not him, and coueyte thou/you not any thing of his things; but slay/kill thou/you from man `til to woman, and a little child, and soukynge, an oxe, and sheep, and camel, and ass.)
Luth So zeuch nun hin und schlage die Amalekiter und verbanne sie mit allem, das sie haben. Schone seiner nicht, sondern töte beide Mann und Weib, Kinder und Säuglinge, Ochsen und Schafe, Kamele und Esel.
(So zeuch now there and hit/beat the Amalekiter and banish they/she/them with everything, the they/she/them have. Schone his not, rather kill both man and woman, children and Säuglinge, oxen and sheep, Kamele and Esel.)
ClVg Nunc ergo vade, et percute Amalec, et demolire universa ejus: non parcas ei, et non concupiscas ex rebus ipsius aliquid, sed interfice a viro usque ad mulierem, et parvulum atque lactentem, bovem et ovem, camelum et asinum.
(Nunc therefore vade, and percute Amalec, and demolire universa his: not/no parcas ei, and not/no concupiscas from rebus ipsius aliquid, but interfice from to_the_man until to mulierem, and parvulum atque lactentem, bovem and ovem, camelum and asinum. )
BrTr And now go, and thou shalt smite Amalec and [fn]Hierim and all that belongs to him, and thou shalt not save anything of him alive, but thou shalt utterly destroy him: and thou shalt devote him and all his to destruction, and thou shalt spare nothing belonging to him; and thou shalt slay both man and woman, and infant and suckling, and calf and sheep, and camel and ass.
15:3 See v 8.
BrLXX Καὶ νῦν πορεύου, καὶ πατάξεις τὸν ʼΑμαλὴκ καὶ Ἱερὶμ καὶ πάντα τὰ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ περιποιήσῃ ἐξ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξολοθρεύσεις αὐτόν· καὶ ἀναθεματιεῖς αὐτὸν καὶ πάντα τὰ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ φείσῃ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἀποκτενεῖς ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς καὶ ἕως γυναικὸς, καὶ ἀπὸ νηπίου ἕως θηλάζοντος, καὶ ἀπὸ μόσχου ἕως προβάτου, καὶ ἀπὸ καμήλου ἕως ὄνου.
(Kai nun poreuou, kai pataxeis ton ʼAmalaʸk kai Hierim kai panta ta autou, kai ou peripoiaʸsaʸ ex autou, kai exolothreuseis auton; kai anathematieis auton kai panta ta autou, kai ou feisaʸ apʼ autou; kai apokteneis apo andros kai heōs gunaikos, kai apo naʸpiou heōs thaʸlazontos, kai apo mosⱪou heōs probatou, kai apo kamaʸlou heōs onou. )
15:3 completely destroy: See “Complete Dedication” Theme Note.
Complete Destruction
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).
Passages for Further Study
Exod 22:20; Lev 27:28-29; Num 21:2-3; Deut 7:1-6, 26; 13:12-18; Josh 6:17-19; 7:11-26; 1 Sam 15:3; 1 Kgs 20:42; Isa 43:26-28
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
(Occurrence 0) completely destroy all that they have … kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey
(Some words not found in UHB: now go and,attack DOM ˊAmālēq and,utterly_destroy DOM all/each/any/every which/who to=him/it and=not spare on/upon/above=him/it and,kill from=man until woman/wife from,child and=unto infant from,ox and=unto sheep from,camel and=unto donkey )
These two phrases mean the same thing. The second phrase gives specific details about what they are to destroy completely.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / litotes
(Occurrence 0) Do not spare them
(Some words not found in UHB: now go and,attack DOM ˊAmālēq and,utterly_destroy DOM all/each/any/every which/who to=him/it and=not spare on/upon/above=him/it and,kill from=man until woman/wife from,child and=unto infant from,ox and=unto sheep from,camel and=unto donkey )
This negative statement emphasizes the completeness of the destruction.
1 Samuel 15
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.