But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
Parallel translations
- WEB Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women!” Then Samuel cut Agag in pieces before Yahweh in Gilgal.
- KJV And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
- NKJV But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
- NASB But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
- NLT But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother will be childless.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
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 executes Agag, declaring just retribution for his violence. It completes the judgment Saul left undone and shows that God's justice will be fulfilled.
Overview
Samuel carries out the sentence Saul disobeyed, applying the principle of just retribution for the bloodshed Agag had caused. The prophet does what the king would not, dramatizing the gap between Saul's compromise and full obedience. God's righteous judgment against persistent enemies of his people is sure, even when human leaders falter.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Judg 1:7Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.
- Gen 9:6Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
- Matt 7:2For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
- Jas 2:13For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Rev 18:6Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
- Rev 16:6For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
- Isa 34:6The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
- Exod 17:11As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed.
- Num 14:45Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them all the way to Hormah.
- 1 Kgs 18:40Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
- Jer 48:10Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
- Num 25:7–8On seeing this, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand,
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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 15:33 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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