Bible Strands
1 Samuel 15:19
So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samuel confronts King Saul after Saul's return from battle, directly questioning his failure to execute the divine command to completely destroy the Amalekites.
The words — The text centers on ma (why) to demand accountability, shama (did you listen/obey) to contrast Saul's verbal claim with his actions, and ta'at (did you rush) to describe his hasty seizure of the plunder.
The thread — The text records the same greedy rush to seize livestock and cattle found in 1 Samuel 14:32, while the phrase "do evil in the sight of the LORD" matches the exact condemnation formula used in 2 Chronicles 33:2.
Why it lands — The text presents partial compliance as active disobedience, requiring a reader to measure claimed obedience against the specific boundaries of the original command rather than personal interpretation.
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
King James Version
Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 14:32 So they rushed greedily to the plunder, taking sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them on the ground and ate meat with the blood still in it.
- 2 Chronicles 33:2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
- 2 Chronicles 33:6 He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- 2 Chronicles 36:12 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke for the LORD.
- Proverbs 15:27 He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
- Jeremiah 7:11 Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.
- Habakkuk 2:9 Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster!
- 2 Timothy 4:10 because Demas, in his love of this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.