1 Samuel 15:23 BSB — MannaFest

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.”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

KJV

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

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Commentary

3 voices

Gregory the Dialogist

Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 2 (604)

24. What is it that those who resist and refuse to comply are likened by the prophet to diviners and idolaters, except that diviners strove to know divine things and to divine hidden matters, while idolaters subjected themselves to figments by venerating them? But those who resist the commands of their superiors resist precisely because they judge that they know the divine will better.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,.... Or divination (e), in whatsoever way it was exercised; for there were various sorts of it among the Heathens, and all condemned by the law of God, Deu 18:

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Stubbornness - Contumacy in sin, justifying it, and pleading for it. Iniquity - Or, the iniquity of idolatry. Rejected - Hath pronounced the sentence of rejection: for that he was not actually deposed by God before, plainly appears, because not only the people, but even David, after this, owned him as king.

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.

Modern Voices1 voice

John Bevere

The Fear of the Lord (excerpted in Charisma Magazine, "Partial Obedience Is Disobedience") (1997)

He probably did 99 percent of what he was told to do. Yet God called his nearly complete obedience—rebellion (1 Sam. 15:23)!

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

14 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
כִּ֤י	ki	for	H3588 →
חַטַּאת־	cha.tat-	[is the] sin of	H2403 →
קֶ֙סֶם֙	ke.sem	divination	H7081 →
מֶ֔רִי	Me.ri	rebellion	H4805 →
וְאָ֥וֶן	ve.'A.ven	and [is] wickedness	H205 →
וּתְרָפִ֖ים	u.te.ra.Fim	and teraphim	H8655 →
הַפְצַ֑ר	haf.Tzar	presumption	H6484 →
יַ֗עַן	Ya.'an	because	H3282 →
מָאַ֙סְתָּ֙	ma.'As.ta	you have rejected	H3988 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
דְּבַ֣ר	de.Var	[the] word of	H1697 →
יְהוָ֔ה	Yah.weh	Yahweh	H3068 →
וַיִּמְאָסְךָ֖	vai.yim.'a.se.Kha	and he has rejected you	H3988 →
מִמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ ס	mi.Me.lekh	from king	H4428 →

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
1 Samuel 13:14
But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
leads to
- Acts 13:22
  After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in…
- 1 Samuel 15:28
  So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.
- Psalms 89:19–37
  You once spoke in a vision; to Your godly ones You said, “I have bestowed help on a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people.
- Psalms 78:70
  He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
- 1 Samuel 16:1
  Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending…
Through
Leviticus 20:6
Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.
leads to
- Leviticus 19:31
  You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
Through
Galatians 5:20
idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 11:19
  And indeed, there must be differences among you to show which of you are approved.
- Titus 3:10
  Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition,

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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 →

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