1 Samuel 15:18

and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Samuel addresses King Saul, recounting how Yahweh commissioned him to lead Israel against Amalek. This occurs during a prophetic confrontation where Samuel rebukes Saul for failing to complete the divinely ordered campaign.

The words — The text highlights וְ/הַחֲרַמְתָּ֞ה (ve./ha.cha.ram.Tah), meaning "and you will totally destroy," alongside הַֽ/חַטָּאִים (ha./cha.ta.'Im), meaning "the sinners." These terms frame the commanded annihilation as a direct response to the group's moral state.

The thread — This theme of divine judgment on designated sinners appears in Genesis 13:13 regarding the men of Sodom and Numbers 16:38 concerning those who sinned at the cost of their lives. The passage does not extend this designation to Genesis 15:16, which only notes the Amorites' iniquity remains incomplete.

Why it lands — The passage demands immediate compliance with a specific divine command without alteration or delay. Readers must recognize that royal authority operates under strict obedience to the commander's explicit orders.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיִּשְׁלָחֲךָ֥va/i.yish.la.cha./Khaand/ he sent/ you יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahweh בְּדָ֑רֶךְbe./Da.rekhon/ a journey וַיֹּ֗אמֶרva/i.Yo.merand/ he said לֵ֣ךְlekhgo וְהַחֲרַמְתָּ֞הve./ha.cha.ram.Tahand/ you will totally destroy אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַֽחַטָּאִים֙ha./cha.ta.'Imthe/ sinners אֶת־'et-<obj.>עֲמָלֵ֔ק'a.ma.LekAmalek וְנִלְחַמְתָּ֣ve./nil.cham.Taand/ you will wage warב֔וֹv/oagainst <the>/ itעַ֥ד'aduntil כַּלּוֹתָ֖םka.lo.Ta/mdestroy/ they אֹתָֽם׃'o.Ta/m<obj.>/ them

King James Version

And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

Cross-references

Genesis 13:13 But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
Genesis 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Numbers 16:38 As for the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar, for these were presented before the LORD, and so have become holy. They will serve as a sign to the Israelites.”
Job 31:3 Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity?
Proverbs 10:29 The way of the LORD is a refuge to the upright, but destruction awaits those who do evil.
Proverbs 13:21 Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.