When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, “You are blessed by Yahweh! I have performed the commandment of Yahweh.”
- KJV And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
- NKJV Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”
- NASB So Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.”
- NLT When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the Lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the Lord’s command!”
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
Saul greets Samuel claiming he has fully obeyed the LORD's command. The false claim shows Saul's self-deception about his disobedience.
Overview
Saul's confident assertion that he has performed God's commandment reveals either willful deception or a conscience so dulled it cannot recognize its own sin. His words are immediately contradicted by the sounds of the spared animals. This exposes the spiritual danger of religious self-justification that refuses to face the truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Judg 17:2said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have the silver here with me; I took it.” Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”
- Ruth 3:10Then Boaz said, “May the LORD bless you, my daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before, because you have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.
- Prov 28:13He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- 1 Sam 15:9Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to destroy them, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.
- Gen 3:12And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
- Gen 14:19and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
- Luke 17:10So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
- Prov 30:13There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes and pretentious are their glances—
- Luke 18:11The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
- 1 Sam 15:11“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
- Prov 31:31Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her at the gates.
- 1 Sam 13:10Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
- Prov 27:2Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips.
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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 15:13 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
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