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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)Then Shemuel commanded, “Bring the Amalekite King Agag over here to me.” ¶ So they brought him over, and trembling,[fn] he said, “I’ve faced up to death now.”[fn]
15:32The meaning of the original word here is unclear and so there’ll be different interpretations.
15:32Some translations interpret the original words as Agag thinking (or saying to himself) that he was going to be spared, but he surely knew Shemuel.
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 εἶπε Σαμουὴλ, προσαγάγετέ μοι τὸν ʼΑγὰγ βασιλέα ʼΑμαλήκ· καὶ προσῆλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν ʼΑγὰγ τρέμων· καὶ εἶπεν ʼΑγὰγ, εἰ οὕτω πικρὸς ὁ θάνατος. (Kai eipe Samouaʸl, prosagagete moi ton ʼAgag basilea ʼAmalaʸk; kai prosaʸlthe pros auton ʼAgag tremōn; kai eipen ʼAgag, ei houtō pikros ho thanatos. )
BrTrAnd Samuel said, Bring me Agag the king of Amalec: and Agag came to him trembling; and Agag said, [fn]Is death thus bitter?
ULTAnd Samuel said, “Bring near to me Agag the king of Amalek.” And Agag went to him in bonds. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death has turned aside.”
USTThen Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” So they brought Agag to him. Agag was brought before him, and he was locked in chains. He thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past!”
BSB § Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” § Agag came to him cheerfully,[fn] for he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”[fn]
15:32Or “Surely this is the bitterness of death.” See DSS and LXX.
OEBThen Samuel said, ‘Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.’ And Agag came to him trembling and said, ‘Surely death is bitter.’
WEBBEThen Samuel said, “Bring Agag the king of the Amalekites here to me!” ¶ Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
NETThen Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.” So Agag came to him trembling, thinking to himself, “Surely death is bitter!”
LSVand Samuel says, “Bring Agag king of Amalek to me,” and Agag comes to him daintily, and Agag says, “Surely the bitterness of death has turned aside.”
FBVThen Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, king of the Amalekites.” Agag came to him confidently, for he thought, “The threat of death of being killed must have passed.”
T4TThen Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” So they brought Agag to him. Agag was confidently expecting that they would spare him/not kill him. He was thinking, “Surely I will not have to endure an agonizing death!”
LEBThen Samuel said, “Bring Agag the king of Amalek out to me!” Agag came to him confidently,[fn] for Agag thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is over.”[fn]
15:32Or “trembling”; literally “in chains/bonds” (HALOT 609 s.v. 2); the meaning here is uncertain (LXX has “trembling”)
15:32Literally “has turned aside”; other English versions follow the LXX and Peshitta and omit “has turned aside,” reading “Surely the bitterness of death!”
BBEThen Samuel said, Make Agag, the king of the Amalekites, come here to me. And Agag came to him shaking with fear. And Agag said, Truly the pain of death is past.
JPSThen said Samuel: 'Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.' And Agag came unto him in chains. And Agag said: 'Surely the bitterness of death is at hand.'
ASVThen said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him cheerfully. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
DRAAnd Samuel said: Bring hitherto me Agag the king of Amalec. And Agag was presented to him very fat, and trembling. And Agag said: Doth bitter death separate in this manner?
YLTand Samuel saith, 'Bring ye nigh unto me Agag king of Amalek,' and Agag cometh unto him daintily, and Agag saith, 'Surely the bitterness of death hath turned aside.'
DrbyAnd Samuel said, Bring ye near to me Agag the king of Amalek. And Agag came to him gaily. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
RVThen said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
WbstrThen said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came to him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
KJB-1769¶ Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. (¶ Then said Samuel, Bring ye/you_all hitherto me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. )
KJB-1611¶ Then said Samuel, Bring you hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites: and Agag came vnto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitternesse of death is past. (¶ Then said Samuel, Bring you hitherto me Agag the king of the Amalekites: and Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.)
BshpsThen sayde Samuel: Bryng you hyther to me Agag, the kyng of the Amalekites. And Agag came vnto hym dilicately, and Agag sayde: Truely the bitternesse of death is past. (Then said Samuel: Bring you hither to me Agag, the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him dilicately, and Agag said: Truely the bitterness of death is past.)
GnvaThen saide Samuel, Bring yee hither to me Agag ye King of the Amalekites: and Agag came vnto him pleasantly, and Agag saide, Truely the bitternesse of death is passed. (Then said Samuel, Bring ye/you_all hitherto me Agag ye/you_all King of the Amalekites: and Agag came unto him pleasantly, and Agag said, Truely the bitterness of death is passed. )
CvdlBut Samuel sayde: Bringe me hither Agag the kynge of the Amalechites. And Agag wente vnto him tederly. And Agag saide: Thus departeth the bytternesse of death. (But Samuel said: Bringe me hither Agag the king of the Amalechites. And Agag went unto him tenderly. And Agag said: Thus departeth the bitternessse of death.)
WycAnd Samuel seide, Brynge ye to me Agag, the kyng of Amalech. And Agag `moost fat tremblynge was brouyt to hym. And Agag seide, Whether thus departith bitter deeth? (And Samuel said, Bring ye/you_all to me Agag, the king of Amalech. And Agag `moost fat tremblynge was brought to him. And Agag said, Whether thus departith bitter death?)
LuthSamuel aber sprach: Laß her zu mir bringen Agag, der Amalekiter König! Und Agag ging zu ihm getrost und sprach: Also muß man des Todes Bitterkeit vertreiben. (Samuel but spoke: Let her to to_me bringen Agag, the/of_the Amalekiter king! And Agag went to him getrost and spoke: So must man the Todes Bitterkeit vertreiben.)
ClVgDixitque Samuel: Adducite ad me Agag regem Amalec. Et oblatus est ei Agag, pinguissimus et tremens. Et dixit Agag: Siccine separat amara mors? (And_he_said Samuel: Adducite to me Agag regem Amalec. And oblatus it_is to_him Agag, pinguissimus and tremens. And he_said Agag: Siccine separat amara mors? )
Thirty-four times in the Old Testament, God is said to “change his mind” or “be sorry” (Hebrew nakham). What could this mean? Did he relent, or did he have pity? Was he sorry, or did he grieve?
One thing is clear: God never repents of sin or moral failure, because he is perfect (see 1 Sam 15:29; Num 23:19). He may “change his mind” regarding calamity or judgment that he initiated—that is, he may decide to stop it—in response to prayers of repentance (Jer 18:7-10; Joel 2:14; Jon 3:9-10), a human intercessor (Exod 32:11-14; Amos 7:2-6), or with no apparent human mediation (Judg 2:18; 2 Sam 24:16). On a few occasions, God is “sorry” about something he has already done, such as choosing Saul to be king (1 Sam 15:11, 35; cp. Gen 6:6). Yet God is not admitting past mistakes; he is expressing anguish over lives gone awry.
Theologians debate the degree to which God, who is all-wise and all-powerful, can “change his mind.” In the Bible, any language that refers to a change in God’s mind reflects a human perspective on God’s activity. Any change in God, therefore, is a change as humans experience him—a reflection of his unchanging love, mercy, faithfulness, and holy will. It does not suggest a change in God’s power, omniscience, foreknowledge, wisdom, or holiness.
(Occurrence 0) Agag came to him confined with chains and said
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said Shəmūʼēl bring to=me DOM Agag king ˊAmālēqites and=he/it_went to=him/it Agag confidently and=he/it_said Agag surely past bitterness the,death )
Alternate translation: “They brought Agag to him bound by chains and Agag said”
(Occurrence 0) Surely the bitterness of death has past
(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said Shəmūʼēl bring to=me DOM Agag king ˊAmālēqites and=he/it_went to=him/it Agag confidently and=he/it_said Agag surely past bitterness the,death )
This idiom appears to mean that Agag no longer thought he would be killed. Alternate translation: “Surely I am no longer in danger or dying”
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.
