1 Samuel 15:16

THE MESSAGE

"Enough!" interrupted Samuel. "Let me tell you what God told me last night." Saul said, "Go ahead. Tell me."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

Hebrew Names Version
Then Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, Stay, and I will tell you what the LORD has said to me this night. He said to him, Say on.

King James Version
Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.

Lexham English Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop and let me tell you what Yahweh said to me last night." So he said to him, "Speak."

English Standard Version
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night." And he said to him, "Speak."

New Century Version
Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night." Saul answered, "Tell me."

New English Translation
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait a minute! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night." Saul said to him, "Tell me."

Amplified Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop, and let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." Saul said to him, "Speak."

New American Standard Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop, and let me inform you of what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak!"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Againe Samuel saide to Saul, Let me tell thee what the Lord hath saide to me this night. And he said vnto him, Say on.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait, and let me tell you what Yahweh spoke to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak!"

Contemporary English Version
"Stop!" Samuel said. "Let me tell you what the Lord told me last night." "All right," Saul answered.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then Sh'mu'el said to Sha'ul, "Stop! I'm going to tell you what Adonai said to me last night." He said, "Speak."

Darby Translation
And Samuel said to Saul, Stay, that I may tell thee what Jehovah has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on.

Easy-to-Read Version
Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord told me last night." Saul answered, "Tell me what he said."

George Lamsa Translation
Then Samuel said to Saul, Be still, and I will tell you what the LORD has said to me this night. And Saul said to him, Say on.

Good News Translation
"Stop," Samuel ordered, "and I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night." "Tell me," Saul said.

Literal Translation
And Samuel said to Saul, Stop, and I will declare to you that which Jehovah spoke to me tonight. And he said to him, Speak.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Neuertheles Samuel answered Saul: Let me tell the what ye LORDE hath sayde vnto me this nighte. He sayde: Saye on.

American Standard Version
Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what Jehovah hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.

Bible in Basic English
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.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Samuel said to Saul: Let me tell thee what the Lorde hath saide to me this night. And he sayd vnto him: saye on.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then Samuel said unto Saul: 'Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night.' And he said unto him: 'Say on.'

King James Version (1611)
Then Samuel sayd vnto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to mee this night. And he said vnto him, Say on.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord has said to me this night: and he said to him, Say on.

English Revised Version
Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.

Berean Standard Bible
"Stop!" exclaimed Samuel. "Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." "Tell me," Saul replied.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Samuel seide to Saul, Suffre thou me, and Y schal schewe to thee what thingis the Lord spak to me in the nyyt. And he seide to Samuel, Speke thou.

Young's Literal Translation
And Samuel saith unto Saul, `Desist, and I declare to thee that which Jehovah hath spoken unto me to-night;' and he saith to him, `Speak.'

Update Bible Version
Then Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell you what Yahweh has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on.

World English Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell you what Yahweh has said to me this night. He said to him, Say on.

New King James Version
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on."

New Living Translation
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!" "What did he tell you?" Saul asked.

New Life Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night." And Saul said to him, "Speak."

New Revised Standard
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night." He replied, "Speak."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Samuel unto Saul, Stay, and let me tell thee, that which Yahweh hath spoken unto me, this night. And he said to him - Speak.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Samuel said to Saul: Suffer me, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said to him: Speak.

Revised Standard Version
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night." And he said to him, "Say on."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait, and let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak!"

Contextual Overview

¹⁰Then God spoke to Samuel: "I'm sorry I ever made Saul king. He's turned his back on me. He refuses to do what I tell him." Samuel was angry when he heard this. He prayed his anger and disappointment all through the night. He got up early in the morning to confront Saul but was told, "Saul's gone. He went to Carmel to set up a victory monument in his own honor, and then was headed for Gilgal." By the time Samuel caught up with him, Saul had just finished an act of worship, having used Amalekite plunder for the burnt offerings sacrificed to God . As Samuel came close, Saul called out, " God 's blessings on you! I accomplished God 's plan to the letter!" Samuel said, "So what's this I'm hearing—this bleating of sheep, this mooing of cattle?" "Only some Amalekite loot," said Saul. "The soldiers saved back a few of the choice cattle and sheep to offer up in sacrifice to God . But everything else we destroyed under the holy ban." "Enough!" interrupted Samuel. "Let me tell you what God told me last night." Saul said, "Go ahead. Tell me." And Samuel told him. "When you started out in this, you were nothing—and you knew it. Then God put you at the head of Israel—made you king over Israel. Then God sent you off to do a job for him, ordering you, ‘Go and put those sinners, the Amalekites, under a holy ban. Go to war against them until you have totally wiped them out.' So why did you not obey God ? Why did you grab all this loot? Why, with God 's eyes on you all the time, did you brazenly carry out this evil?" Saul defended himself. "What are you talking about? I did obey God . I did the job God set for me. I brought in King Agag and destroyed the Amalekites under the terms of the holy ban. So the soldiers saved back a few choice sheep and cattle from the holy ban for sacrifice to God at Gilgal—what's wrong with that?" Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices— empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God 's command, he says No to your kingship. Saul gave in and confessed, "I've sinned. I've trampled roughshod over God 's Word and your instructions. I cared more about pleasing the people. I let them tell me what to do. Oh, absolve me of my sin! Take my hand and lead me to the altar so I can worship God !" But Samuel refused: "No, I can't come alongside you in this. You rejected God 's command. Now God has rejected you as king over Israel." As Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed at his priestly robe and a piece tore off. Samuel said, " God has just now torn the kingdom from you, and handed it over to your neighbor, a better man than you are. Israel's God-of-Glory doesn't deceive and he doesn't dither. He says what he means and means what he says." Saul tried again, "I have sinned. But don't abandon me! Support me with your presence before the leaders and the people. Come alongside me as I go back to worship God ." Samuel did. He went back with him. And Saul went to his knees before God and worshiped. Then Samuel said, "Present King Agag of Amalek to me." Agag came, dragging his feet, muttering that he'd be better off dead. Samuel said, "Just as your sword made many a woman childless, so your mother will be childless among those women!" And Samuel cut Agag down in the presence of God right there in Gilgal. Samuel left immediately for Ramah and Saul went home to Gibeah. Samuel had nothing to do with Saul from then on, though he grieved long and deeply over him. But God was sorry he had ever made Saul king in the first place. ¹² Samuel said to Saul, " God sent me to anoint you king over his people, Israel. Now, listen again to what God says. This is the God -of-the-Angel-Armies speaking: "‘I'm about to get even with Amalek for ambushing Israel when Israel came up out of Egypt. Here's what you are to do: Go to war against Amalek. Put everything connected with Amalek under a holy ban. And no exceptions! This is to be total destruction—men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys—the works.'" Saul called the army together at Telaim and prepared them to go to war—two hundred companies of infantry from Israel and another ten companies from Judah. Saul marched to Amalek City and hid in the canyon. Then Saul got word to the Kenites: "Get out of here while you can. Evacuate the city right now or you'll get lumped in with the Amalekites. I'm warning you because you showed real kindness to the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt." And they did. The Kenites evacuated the place. Then Saul went after Amalek, from the canyon all the way to Shur near the Egyptian border. He captured Agag, king of Amalek, alive. Everyone else was killed under the terms of the holy ban. Saul and the army made an exception for Agag, and for the choice sheep and cattle. They didn't include them under the terms of the holy ban. But all the rest, which nobody wanted anyway, they destroyed as decreed by the holy ban. Then God spoke to Samuel: "I'm sorry I ever made Saul king. He's turned his back on me. He refuses to do what I tell him." Samuel was angry when he heard this. He prayed his anger and disappointment all through the night. He got up early in the morning to confront Saul but was told, "Saul's gone. He went to Carmel to set up a victory monument in his own honor, and then was headed for Gilgal." By the time Samuel caught up with him, Saul had just finished an act of worship, having used Amalekite plunder for the burnt offerings sacrificed to God . ¹³ As Samuel came close, Saul called out, " God 's blessings on you! I accomplished God 's plan to the letter!" ¹⁴ Samuel said, "So what's this I'm hearing—this bleating of sheep, this mooing of cattle?" ¹⁵ "Only some Amalekite loot," said Saul. "The soldiers saved back a few of the choice cattle and sheep to offer up in sacrifice to God . But everything else we destroyed under the holy ban." ¹⁶ "Enough!" interrupted Samuel. "Let me tell you what God told me last night." Saul said, "Go ahead. Tell me." ¹⁷And Samuel told him. "When you started out in this, you were nothing—and you knew it. Then God put you at the head of Israel—made you king over Israel. Then God sent you off to do a job for him, ordering you, ‘Go and put those sinners, the Amalekites, under a holy ban. Go to war against them until you have totally wiped them out.' So why did you not obey God ? Why did you grab all this loot? Why, with God 's eyes on you all the time, did you brazenly carry out this evil?" ²⁰Saul defended himself. "What are you talking about? I did obey God . I did the job God set for me. I brought in King Agag and destroyed the Amalekites under the terms of the holy ban. So the soldiers saved back a few choice sheep and cattle from the holy ban for sacrifice to God at Gilgal—what's wrong with that?" ²²Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices— empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God 's command, he says No to your kingship.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Stay: 1 Samuel 9:27, 1 Samuel 12:7, 1 Kings 22:16

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 12:16 - stand 1 Samuel 15:1 - hearken 1 Kings 14:6 - for I am 1 Kings 14:7 - Forasmuch Isaiah 39:5 - Hear Jeremiah 22:1 - Go Jeremiah 34:6 - General Amos 7:16 - hear Micah 6:1 - ye

Cross-References

Genesis 15:5
Then he took him outside and said, "Look at the sky. Count the stars. Can you do it? Count your descendants! You're going to have a big family, Abram!"

Genesis 15:8
Abram said, "Master God , how am I to know this, that it will all be mine?"

Genesis 15:9
God said, "Bring me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, and a dove and a young pigeon."

Exodus 12:40
The Israelites had lived in Egypt 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, God 's entire army left Egypt. God kept watch all night, watching over the Israelites as he brought them out of Egypt. Because God kept watch, all Israel for all generations will honor God by keeping watch this night—a watchnight.

Daniel 8:23
"‘As their kingdoms cool down and rebellions heat up, A king will show up, hard-faced, a master trickster. His power will swell enormously. He'll talk big, high-handedly, Doing whatever he pleases, knocking off heroes and holy ones left and right. He'll plot and scheme to make crime flourish— and oh, how it will flourish! He'll think he's invincible and get rid of anyone who gets in his way. But when he takes on the Prince of all princes, he'll be smashed to bits— but not by human hands. This vision of the 2,300 sacrifices, evening and morning, is accurate but confidential. Keep it to yourself. It refers to the far future.'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Samuel said unto Saul, stay,.... Stop a little, do not be in haste to be gone, as he might seem to be, fearing a reproof, and that something would be said to him not very agreeable; or "suffer" c me, that is, to speak, give me leave to say a few words; for Saul being a king, Samuel treats him as such, and asks audience of him, or leave of him to deliver what he had to say to him:

and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night; and since it was not anything from himself, but from the Lord, he had to say, he might expect the rather to be heard, and especially since it was what had lately, even that very night, been told him:

and he said unto him, say on; he gave him leave, perhaps hoping he should hear something said in his praise, commending him for what he had done in destroying the nation of Amalek, see Luke 7:40. There is a double reading of this clause, the Cetib or textural reading is, "and they said unto him"; meaning Saul, and the elders with him; the Keri, or marginal reading is, which we follow, "and he said unto him"; meaning Saul, as Kimchi notes.

c הרף "permitte", Pagninus, Montanus; "sine me", V. L. so Abarbinel.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Samuel now acquiesces in the wisdom and justice of the sentence which 1 Samuel 15:11 he had so strenuously resisted at first. What before was known only to the Searcher of hearts, had now been displayed to Samuel by Saul himself.