Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship the LORD.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh.”
- KJV Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
- NKJV Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”
- NASB Now then, please pardon my sin and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”
- NLT But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”
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 asks Samuel to pardon him and return so he can worship. His concern centers more on appearances and restoration than on God himself.
Overview
Saul seeks Samuel's company and pardon, but his focus on resuming worship publicly suggests anxiety about his standing more than heartfelt repentance. The request reveals a man clinging to position rather than submitting to God's verdict. It contrasts with the broken contrition of David seen later in Psalm 51.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Exod 10:17Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
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 15:25 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.