1 Samuel 28:18

Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out His burning anger against Amalek, the LORD has done this to you today.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The spirit of Samuel addresses King Saul at Endor, explaining the immediate divine judgment that has just been pronounced. He speaks to Saul as the moment of national defeat and royal demise approaches.

The words — The text highlights שָׁמַ֙עְתָּ֙ (sha.Ma'.ta) for "you listened" and חֲרוֹן (cha.ron) for "burning," emphasizing a failure to heed Yahweh and execute His fierce wrath. These terms frame Saul’s disobedience as a deliberate neglect of a commanded execution.

The thread — This pattern of failed execution appears in 1 Samuel 15:9, where Saul spared Agag and the best livestock, and in 1 Kings 20:42, where a prophet condemns a king for letting slip a man the LORD had doomed. Jeremiah 48:10 similarly curses those who are remiss in doing the LORD’s work and withhold their sword from bloodshed.

Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that divine commands require complete obedience, not partial compliance. It warns readers that neglecting a specific divine mandate invites immediate and irreversible consequences.

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

כַּאֲשֶׁ֤רka./'a.Sher<as>/ since לֹֽא־lo'-not שָׁמַ֙עְתָּ֙sha.Ma'.tayou listened בְּק֣וֹלbe./Kolto/ [the] voice of יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh וְלֹֽא־ve./lo'-and/ not עָשִׂ֥יתָ'a.Si.tayou executed חֲרוֹן־cha.ron-[the] burning of אַפּ֖וֹ'a.P/oanger/ his בַּעֲמָלֵ֑קba./'a.ma.Lekon/ Amalek עַל־'al-there-כֵּן֙ken-fore הַדָּבָ֣רha./da.Varthe/ thing הַזֶּ֔הha./Zeh<the>/ this עָשָֽׂה־'a.sah-he has doneלְךָ֥le./Khato <the>/ youיְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahweh הַיּ֥וֹםhai./Yomthe/ day הַזֶּֽה׃ha./Zeh<the>/ this

King James Version

Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day.

Cross-references

1 Samuel 15:9 Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to devote them to destruction, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.
1 Kings 20:42 And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”
Jeremiah 48:10 Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
1 Samuel 13:9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered up the burnt offering.
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.
1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
1 Chronicles 10:13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,
Psalms 50:21 You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.