1 Samuel 15:29
in 1 Samuel 15Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.
KJV
And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 15
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The strength of Israel - A phrase which occurs only here. The word means, perpetuity, truth, glory, victory, and trust, or confidence.
This site's exposition
the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind
The chapter’s second statement stands against the first, since "the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind" as a man does. Barnes notes that this title occurs nowhere else in Scripture, chosen for its weight of permanence. The older commentators read two levels of language, verses 11 and 35 describing the LORD’s grief and changed dealing, verse 29 His unchanging character.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Furthermore, the triumpher in Israel will not relent, etc. He who, he says, alone—indeed, all of Israel—by his grace made you triumph while fighting against Amalek, he will not spare you either, who are transgressing his word; for the more you received the power to …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
32. For who is to be understood by the name of this triumphant one, except the Creator of the human race? For whoever overcomes hidden adversaries conquers by His power, who bestows upon him the grace of overcoming temptation. What does it mean that the triumphant one is said not to spare, when Samuel is being entreated? Because when preachers grow angry at sinning subjects, when they strike the proud or the dissolute with divine judgment, they do not act by the impulse of their own fury, but carry out the decision of the divine will.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But God needs no such artifices; he can do whatsoever he pleaseth by his absolute power. Repent - That is, nor change his counsel; which also is an effect of weakness and imperfection, either of wisdom or power. So that this word is not here used in the sense it commonly is when applied to God, as in Jer. xi, 1-23, and elsewhere.
"He is determined to depose thee, and he will not change his purpose. He is not a man that should repent. " Men are fickle and alter their minds, feeble and cannot effect their purposes; something happens which they could not foresee, by which their measures are broken.
And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the Strength of Israel will not lie--Hebrew, "He that gives a victory to Israel," a further rebuke of his pride in rearing the Carmel trophy, and an intimation that no loss would be sustained in Israel by his rejection.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The Strength of Israel will not lie - What God has purposed he will bring to pass, for he has all power in the heavens and in the earth; and he will not repent - change his purpose - concerning thee. We may say it was some extenuation of Saul’s fault that the people insisted on preserving the best of the prey; for who could resist the demands of a victorious mob? But his crime was in consenting; had he not, the crime would have been theirs alone.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְגַם֙ | vegam | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| נֵ֣צַח | netzach | [the] eminence of | H5331 → | |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְשַׁקֵּ֖ר | yeshaker | he will deal falsely | H8266 → | |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִנָּחֵ֑ם | yinachem | he will regret | H5162 → | 108 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָדָ֛ם | ʾadam | [is] a man | H120 → | 551 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לְהִנָּחֵֽם׃ | lehinachem | to regret | H5162 → | 108 times |
וְגַם֙and also
vegamH1571 →769 times
נֵ֣צַח[the] eminence of
netzachH5331 →
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְשַׁקֵּ֖רhe will deal falsely
yeshakerH8266 →
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִנָּחֵ֑םhe will regret
yinachemH5162 →108 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אָדָ֛ם[is] a man
ʾadamH120 →551 times
ה֖וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
לְהִנָּחֵֽם׃to regret
lehinachemH5162 →108 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 23:19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
it leads to
- Titus 1:2
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Malachi 3:6
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
- Hebrews 6:18
Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- Luke 21:33
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- Titus 1:2
Through
2 Timothy 2:13if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
it leads to
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Romans 3:3
What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?
- 1 Thessalonians 5:24
The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
- Numbers 23:19
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.