Bible Strands
1 Samuel 15:20
“But I did obey the LORD,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the LORD gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul speaks to Samuel immediately after returning from his campaign against the Amalekites. He responds to Samuel’s direct accusation that he failed to fully carry out the LORD’s command.
The words — The Hebrew שָׁמַעְתִּי (sha.Ma'.ti) literally means “I listened” or “I obeyed,” paired with בְּק֣וֹל יְהוָ֔ה (be./Kol Yah.weh), “to the voice of Yahweh.” This phrasing functions as Saul’s direct rebuttal to the charge of disobedience.
The thread — This claim of obedience mirrors Saul’s earlier statement in 1 Samuel 15:13 and parallels the young ruler’s defense in Matthew 19:20 and Paul’s description of those who “did not submit to God’s righteousness” in Romans 10:3. Each passage records a human claim of compliance that Scripture subsequently examines.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to distinguish between claiming obedience and executing a command completely. It forces an assessment of whether partial fulfillment satisfies divine instruction.
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
And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 15:13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
- Matthew 19:20 “All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”
- Romans 10:3 Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
- 1 Samuel 15:3 Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
- 1 Samuel 15:8 He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, but devoted all the others to destruction with the sword.
- Job 33:9 ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, with no iniquity in me.
- Job 34:5 For Job has declared, ‘I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice.
- Job 35:2 “Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’
- Job 40:8 Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
- Luke 10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”