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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

1 Samuel 15:8

Agag was the king of the Amalekites. Saul captured Agag alive. Saul let Agag live, but he killed all the men in Agag's army.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Agag;   Agency;   Amalekites;   Covetousness;   Falsehood;   Gilgal;   Repentance;   Retaliation;   Rulers;   War;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Amalekites, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Agag;   Amalekites;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Saul, king of israel;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prayer;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Amalekite;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Haman;   Purim;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Agag;   Samuel, Books of;   Saul;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Agag;   Amalek, Amalekites;   Ban;   Havilah;   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;   Smith Bible Dictionary - A'gag;   Pu'rim;   Saul;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Government of the Hebrews;   Rephidim;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Agag;   Amalek;   Purim;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Agag;   Amalekites;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Esther;   Parashiyyot, the Four;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He captured King Agag of Amalek alive, but he completely destroyed all the rest of the people with the sword.
Hebrew Names Version
He took Agag the king of the `Amaleki alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
King James Version
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
Lexham English Bible
He captured Agag the king of Amalek alive, but all the people he utterly destroyed with the edge of the sword.
English Standard Version
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.
New Century Version
He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he killed all of Agag's army with the sword.
New English Translation
He captured King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he executed all Agag's people with the sword.
Amplified Bible
He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, though he totally destroyed all [the rest of] the people with the sword.
New American Standard Bible
He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and completely destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And tooke Agag the King of the Amalekites aliue, and destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
Legacy Standard Bible
And he seized Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.
Contemporary English Version
Every Amalekite was killed except King Agag.
Complete Jewish Bible
He took Agag the king of ‘Amalek alive; but he completely destroyed the people, putting them to the sword.
Darby Translation
And he took Agag the king of Amalek alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
George Lamsa Translation
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
Good News Translation
he captured King Agag of Amalek alive and killed all the people.
Literal Translation
And he captured Agag the king of Amalek alive. But he exterminated all the people with the mouth of the sword.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& toke Agag the kynge of ye Amalechites alyue, & damned all ye people wt the edge of the swerde.
American Standard Version
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
Bible in Basic English
He took Agag, king of the Amalekites, prisoner, and put all the people to the sword without mercy.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And toke Agag the king of the Amalekites alyue, and vtterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sworde.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
King James Version (1611)
And hee tooke Agag the king of the Amalekites aliue, and vtterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he took Agag the king of Amalec alive, and he slew all the people and Hierim with the edge of the sword.
English Revised Version
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
Berean Standard Bible
He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, but devoted all the others to destruction with the sword.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he took Agag quyke, the kyng of Amalech; sotheli he killide bi the scharpnesse of swerd alle the comyn puple.
Young's Literal Translation
and he catcheth Agag king of Amalek alive, and all the people he hath devoted by the mouth of the sword;
Update Bible Version
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and completely destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
World English Bible
He took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
New King James Version
He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
New Living Translation
He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else.
New Life Bible
He took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and destroyed all the people with the sword.
New Revised Standard
He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he took Agag, king of Amalek, alive, - but, all the people, devoted he to destruction at the edge of the sword.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he took Agag, the king of Amalec, alive: but all the common people he slew with the edge of the sword.
Revised Standard Version
And he took Agag the king of the Amal'ekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

Contextual Overview

1 One day Samuel said to Saul, "The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel. Now listen to his message. 2 The Lord All-Powerful says: ‘When the Israelites came out of Egypt, the Amalekites tried to stop them from going to Canaan. I saw what the Amalekites did. 3 Now go fight against the Amalekites. You must completely destroy the Amalekites and everything that belongs to them. Don't let anything live; you must kill all the men and women and all of their children and little babies. You must kill all of their cattle and sheep and all of their camels and donkeys.'" 4 Saul gathered the army together at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 other men, including the men from Judah. 5 Then Saul went to the city of Amalek and waited in the valley. 6 He said to the Kenites, "Go away! Leave the Amalekites. Then I won't destroy you with the Amalekites. You showed kindness to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt." So the Kenites left the Amalekites. 7 Saul defeated the Amalekites. He fought them and chased them all the way from Havilah to Shur, at the border of Egypt. 8 Agag was the king of the Amalekites. Saul captured Agag alive. Saul let Agag live, but he killed all the men in Agag's army. 9 Saul and the Israelite soldiers felt bad about destroying everything. So they let Agag live. They also kept the fat cattle, the best sheep, and the lambs. They kept everything that was worth keeping. They didn't want to destroy those things. They destroyed only what was not worth keeping.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Agag: 1 Samuel 15:3, Numbers 24:7, 1 Kings 20:30, 1 Kings 20:34-42, Esther 3:1

utterly: 1 Samuel 27:8, 1 Samuel 30:1, Joshua 10:39, Joshua 11:12

Reciprocal: Exodus 17:14 - for I will Numbers 24:20 - shall be that he perish for ever Deuteronomy 2:34 - utterly destroyed Joshua 6:21 - utterly Joshua 8:23 - General Joshua 11:15 - he left nothing 1 Samuel 15:20 - have brought 2 Samuel 21:2 - in his zeal 1 Kings 20:32 - he is my brother 1 Chronicles 4:43 - the rest

Cross-References

Genesis 15:2
But Abram said, "Lord God , there is nothing you can give me that will make me happy, because I have no son. My slave Eliezer from Damascus will get everything I own after I die."
Genesis 15:4
Then the Lord spoke to Abram and said, "That slave will not be the one to get what you have. You will have a son who will get everything you own."
Genesis 15:9
God said to Abram, "We will make an agreement. Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon."
Genesis 15:10
Abram brought all these to God. Abram killed these animals and cut each of them into two pieces. Then he laid each half across from the other half. He did not cut the birds into two pieces.
Genesis 15:13
Then the Lord said to Abram, "You should know this: Your descendants will live in a country that is not their own. They will be strangers there. The people there will make them slaves and be cruel to them for 400 years.
Genesis 15:14
But then I will punish the nation that made them slaves. Your people will leave that land, and they will take many good things with them.
Genesis 15:17
After the sun went down, it got very dark. The dead animals were still on the ground, each animal cut into two pieces. Then a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the halves of the dead animals.
2 Kings 20:8
Hezekiah asked Isaiah, "What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I will go up to the Temple of the Lord on the third day?"
Psalms 86:17
Lord , show me a sign that you care for me. My enemies will see it and be disappointed, because you helped and comforted me.
Isaiah 7:11
and said, "Ask for a sign from the Lord your God to prove to yourself that this is true. You can ask for any sign you want. The sign can come from a place as deep as Sheol or as high as the skies."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive,.... This name seems to be a common name of the kings of these people, as Pharaoh was of the Egyptians, see Numbers 24:2. When this king fell into the hands of Saul, he did not put him to death, as he should have done, but preserved him; for what reasons, see in the following verse:

and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword; that is, all that came in his way, or fell into his hands; all between Havilah and Shur; all excepting those that made their escape, for we after read of Amalekites, and that in large bodies, 1 Samuel 27:8.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The saving Agag alive was in direct violation of the devotion to destruction.


 
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