So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Why then didn’t you obey Yahweh’s voice, but took the plunder, and did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight?”
- KJV Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
- NKJV Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”
- NASB Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Instead, you loudly rushed upon the spoils and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord!”
- NLT Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
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
Samuel asks why Saul seized the plunder and did evil instead of obeying. The question names Saul's disobedience as evil in God's sight.
Overview
Samuel cuts through the excuses to the core issue: Saul greedily took the spoil rather than obeying the LORD's voice. What Saul framed as devotion, God names as evil. The verse insists that the standard for a leader is obedience to God's word, not personal or popular preference.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Sam 14:32So they rushed greedily to the plunder, taking sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them on the ground and ate meat with the blood still in it.
- 2 Chr 33:2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
- 2 Chr 33:6He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- Hab 2:9–12Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster!
- Prov 15:27He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
- 2 Chr 36:12And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke for the LORD.
- Jer 7:11Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.
- 2 Tim 4:10because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
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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 15:19 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.