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Monday, August 18th, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Bible in Basic English

1 Samuel 15:14

And Samuel said, What then is this sound of the crying of sheep and the noise of oxen which comes to my ears?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Agency;   Amalekites;   Church and State;   Falsehood;   Gilgal;   Minister, Christian;   Presumption;   Repentance;   Reproof;   Rulers;   Self-Righteousness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Saul, King of Israel;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Amalekites, the;   Ox, the;   Sheep;   Sin;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Amalekites;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Gilgal;   Samuel;   Saul, king of israel;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Hear, Hearing;   Mediator, Mediation;   Samuel, First and Second, Theology of;   Sin;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prayer;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Samuel, Books of;   Saul;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Agag;   Amalek, Amalekites;   Ban;   Israel;   Samuel, Books of;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Agag ;   Amalek, Amalekites ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Mordecai;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Agag;   Amalek;   Saul;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Government of the Hebrews;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Saul;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Parashiyyot, the Four;   Repentance;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep, goats, and cattle I hear?”
Hebrew Names Version
Shemu'el said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
King James Version
And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
Lexham English Bible
But Samuel said, "Then what is this bleating of the sheep that I hear in my ears and the lowing of the cattle that I am hearing?"
English Standard Version
And Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?"
New Century Version
But Samuel said, "Then why do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?"
New English Translation
Samuel replied, "If that is the case, then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?"
Amplified Bible
But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
New American Standard Bible
But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the bellowing of the oxen which I hear?"
Geneva Bible (1587)
But Samuel saide, What meaneth then the bleating of the sheepe in mine eares, and the lowing of the oxen which I heare?
Legacy Standard Bible
But Samuel said, "What then is this sound of the sheep in my ears and the sound of the oxen which I am hearing?"
Contemporary English Version
"Then why," Samuel asked, "do I hear sheep and cattle?"
Complete Jewish Bible
But Sh'mu'el answered, "If so, why do I hear sheep bleating and cows mooing?"
Darby Translation
And Samuel said, What [means] then this bleating of sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of oxen which I hear?
Easy-to-Read Version
But Samuel said, "Then what is that sound I hear? Why do I hear sheep and cattle?"
George Lamsa Translation
And Samuel said, What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?
Good News Translation
Samuel asked, "Why, then, do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?"
Literal Translation
And Samuel said, What then is this bleating of the flock in my ears, and the sound of the herd that I hear?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Samuel answered: What crye is this then of shepe in myne eares, and the crye of oxen which I heare?
American Standard Version
And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Samuel sayde: What meaneth then the bleating of the sheepe in mine eares and the lowing of the oxen which I heare?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Samuel said: 'What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?'
King James Version (1611)
And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheepe in mine eares, and the lowing of the oxen which I heare?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Samuel said, What then is the bleating of this flock in my ears, and the sound of the oxen which I hear?
English Revised Version
And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
Berean Standard Bible
But Samuel replied, "Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Samuel seide, And what is the vois of flockis, that sowneth in myn eeris, and of grete beestis, whiche Y here?
Young's Literal Translation
And Samuel saith, `And what [is] the noise of this flock in mine ears -- and the noise of the herd which I am hearing?'
Update Bible Version
And Samuel said, What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
Webster's Bible Translation
And Samuel said, What [meaneth] then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
World English Bible
Samuel said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
New King James Version
But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
New Living Translation
"Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?" Samuel demanded.
New Life Bible
But Samuel said, "Then why do I hear the sounds of sheep and cattle?"
New Revised Standard
But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of cattle that I hear?"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Samuel said, What then is this bleating of sheep, in mine ears, - and the lowing of oxen, which I can hear?
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Samuel said: What meaneth then this bleating of the flocks, which soundeth in my ears, and the lowing of the herds, which I hear?
Revised Standard Version
And Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
THE MESSAGE
Samuel said, "So what's this I'm hearing—this bleating of sheep, this mooing of cattle?"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"

Contextual Overview

10 Then the Lord said to Samuel, 11 It is no longer my pleasure for Saul to be king; for he is turned back from going in my ways, and has not done my orders. And Samuel was very sad, crying to the Lord in prayer all night. 12 And early in the morning he got up and went to Saul; and word was given to Samuel that Saul had come to Carmel and put up a pillar, and had gone from there down to Gilgal. 13 And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, May the blessing of the Lord be with you: I have done what was ordered by the Lord. 14 And Samuel said, What then is this sound of the crying of sheep and the noise of oxen which comes to my ears? 15 And Saul said, They have taken them from the Amalekites: for the people have kept the best of the sheep and of the oxen as an offering to the Lord your God; all the rest we have given up to destruction. 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, Say no more! Let me give you word of what the Lord has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said, Though you may seem little to yourself, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord with the holy oil made you king over Israel, 18 And the Lord sent you on a journey and said, Go and put to the curse those sinners, the Amalekites, fighting against them till every one is dead. 19 Why then did you not do the orders of the Lord, but by violently taking their goods did evil in the eyes of the Lord?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What meaneth: Psalms 36:2, Psalms 50:16-21, Jeremiah 2:18, Jeremiah 2:19, Jeremiah 2:22, Jeremiah 2:23, Jeremiah 2:34-37, Malachi 3:13-15, Luke 19:22, Romans 3:19, 1 Corinthians 4:5

Reciprocal: Genesis 21:29 - General Numbers 20:11 - smote Numbers 31:14 - wroth Judges 16:15 - when thine Psalms 36:1 - The transgression Proverbs 16:2 - the ways Proverbs 28:4 - but Proverbs 30:12 - that are Luke 15:29 - Lo Acts 21:13 - What

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Have no fear, Abram: I will keep you safe, and great will be your reward.
Genesis 15:2
And Abram said, What will you give me? for I have no child and this Eliezer of Damascus will have all my wealth after me.
Genesis 15:4
Then said the Lord, This man will not get the heritage, but a son of your body will have your property after you.
Genesis 15:5
And he took him out into the open air, and said to him, Let your eyes be lifted to heaven, and see if the stars may be numbered; even so will your seed be.
Genesis 15:6
And he had faith in the Lord, and it was put to his account as righteousness.
Genesis 15:7
And he said to him, I am the Lord, who took you from Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land for your heritage.
Genesis 15:9
And he said, Take a young cow of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a sheep of three years old, and a dove and a young pigeon.
Genesis 15:11
And evil birds came down on the bodies, but Abram sent them away.
Genesis 15:14
But I will be the judge of that nation whose servants they are, and they will come out from among them with great wealth.
Genesis 15:18
In that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram, and said, To your seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Samuel said, what meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears,.... For the orders were to destroy all living creatures belonging to the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 15:3 if therefore Saul had performed the commandment of the Lord, as he said he had, from whence were these sheep Samuel heard bleating?

and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? where do they come from? these questions he put to convict him of the falsehood he had delivered; the bleating and lowing of these creatures proved him a liar, and were witnesses of his breach of the divine command; and one would think every bleating and lowing of these must alarm his conscience, unless dreadfully stupefied.


 
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