1 Samuel 15:22 BSB — MannaFest

1 Samuel 15:22

But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

KJV

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

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Commentary

4 voices

Athanasius of Alexandria

296–373

Letter 19.5 (373)

Samuel, that great man, no less clearly reproved Saul, saying, "Is not the word better than a gift?" For hereby one fulfills the law and pleases God, as he says, "The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me." Let one "learn what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice," and I will not condemn the adversaries.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Sacrifice - Because obedience to God is a moral duty, constantly and indispensably necessary; but sacrifice is but a ceremonial institution, sometimes unnecessary, as it was in the wilderness: and sometimes sinful, when it is offered by a polluted hand, or in an irregular manner. Therefore thy gross disobedience to God's express command, is not to be compensated with sacrifice.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Obedience is enjoyed by the eternal law of nature, but sacrifice only by a positive law. Obedience was the law of innocency, but sacrifice supposes sin come into the world, and is but a feeble attempt to take that away which obedience would have prevented. God is more glorified and self more denied by obedience than by sacrifice.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord--Saul was either blinded by a partial and delusive self-love, or he was, in his declaration to Samuel, acting the part of a bold and artful hypocrite. He professed to have fulfilled the divine command, and that the blame of any defects in the execution lay with the people.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

16 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר	vai.Yo.mer	and he said	H559 →
שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל	she.mu.'El	Samuel	H8050 →
הַחֵ֤פֶץ	ha.Che.fetz	¿ [does] delight	H2656 →
לַֽיהוָה֙	la.Yah.weh	[belong] to Yahweh	H3068 →
בְּעֹל֣וֹת	be.'o.Lot	in burnt offerings	H5930 →
וּזְבָחִ֔ים	u.ze.va.Chim	and sacrifices	H2077 →
כִּשְׁמֹ֖עַ	kish.Mo.a'	like listening	H8085 →
בְּק֣וֹל	be.Kol	to [the] voice of	H6963 →
יְהוָ֑ה	Yah.weh	Yahweh	H3068 →
הִנֵּ֤ה	hi.Neh	here!	H2009 →
שְׁמֹ֙עַ֙	she.Mo.a'	to obey	H8085 →
מִזֶּ֣בַח	mi.Ze.vach	more than sacrifice	H2077 →
ט֔וֹב	Tov	[is] good	H2896 →
לְהַקְשִׁ֖יב	le.hak.Shiv	to pay attention	H7181 →
מֵחֵ֥לֶב	me.Che.lev	more than [the] fat of	H2459 →
אֵילִֽים׃	'ei.Lim	rams	H352 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
leads to
- Matthew 9:13
  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Matthew 12:7
  If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Proverbs 21:3
  To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
- Amos 5:21
  “I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
- Ecclesiastes 5:1
  Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
Through
Proverbs 21:3
To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
leads to
- Hosea 6:6
  For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Micah 6:6–8
  With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:8
  The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

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About 1 Samuel

The Death of Agag — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

1 Samuel: the study guide →Read chapter 15 →The featured study →

PersonJudges to monarchySamuelAsked of God by Hannah and lent to the LORD at Shiloh; the last judge and first of the prophets after Moses, who anointed both Sau…

Obedience
Saul's partial obedience dressed as worship shows obedience cannot be substituted with ritual
Worship
Obedience better than sacrifice — ritual worship corrected against a hollow heart

Continue: 1 Samuel 15 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 1 Samuel

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 1 Samuel