“But I did obey the LORD,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the LORD gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
Parallel translations
- WEB Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed Yahweh’s voice, and have gone the way which Yahweh sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
- KJV And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
- NKJV And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
- NASB Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the Lord, for I went on the mission on which the Lord sent me; and I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have completely destroyed the Amalekites.
- NLT “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else.
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 insists he did obey, while still admitting he kept Agag. His self-justification persists even as the evidence condemns him.
Overview
Saul doubles down, claiming obedience in the same breath that he confesses sparing the very king he was to destroy. His inability to see his contradiction reveals a hardened, self-justifying heart. The verse exposes how sin blinds a person to the plain reality of their own disobedience.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Sam 15:13When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
- Rom 10:3Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
- Matt 19:20“All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”
- Job 34:5For Job has declared, ‘I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice.
- Job 35:2“Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’
- 1 Sam 15:3Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction 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.’”
- 1 Sam 15:8He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, but devoted all the others to destruction with the sword.
- Luke 10:29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
- Job 33:9‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, with no iniquity in me.
- 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.
- Job 40:8Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
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 15:20 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.