But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.
Parallel translations
- WEB But certain worthless fellows said, “How could this man save us?” They despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
- BSB But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.
- NKJV But some rebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.
- NASB But certain useless men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and did not bring him a gift. But he kept silent about it.
- NLT But there were some scoundrels who complained, “How can this man save us?” And they scorned him and refused to bring him gifts. But Saul ignored them. [Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the people of Gad and Reuben who lived east of the Jordan River. He gouged out the right eye of each of the Israelites living there, and he didn’t allow anyone to come and rescue them. In fact, of all the Israelites east of the Jordan, there wasn’t a single one whose right eye Nahash had not gouged out. But there were 7,000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had settled in Jabesh-gilead.]
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Some worthless men despise Saul and bring no gift, doubting he can save them. Saul wisely holds his peace.
Overview
Opposition arises immediately, exposing the divisions a king cannot fully heal. Saul's restraint shows initial patience and good judgment, qualities his reign will later lack. The doubt 'How could this man save us?' will be answered in the next chapter, where God grants Saul a decisive victory through which his kingship is confirmed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Deut 13:13Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
- 2 Chr 17:5Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.
- 1 Kgs 10:25And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
- Acts 7:35This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.
- Matt 27:12–14And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
- 2 Chr 13:7And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.
- 1 Kgs 4:21And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
- 1 Sam 2:12Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
- Isa 36:21But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.
- 2 Sam 20:1And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.
- 2 Sam 8:2And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
- Ps 72:10The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
- Acts 7:51–52Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
- Matt 2:11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
- 1 Sam 11:12And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death.
- Ps 38:13But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 10:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.