1 Samuel 15:30
in 1 Samuel 15“I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy God.
KJV
Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The pertinacity with which Saul clings to Samuel for support is a striking testimony to Samuel’s integrity. With all his worldly-mindedness Saul could perceive and appreciate the purity of Samuel’s character as a man of God. The Lord thy God - As above, 1Sa 15:15.
This site's exposition
Please honor me now before the elders of my people
on 1 Samuel 15:30-31
Saul's second confession repeats "I have sinned" but asks again for honor "before the elders of my people and before Israel" rather than for mercy. Samuel goes back with him and Saul worships, which the commentators read as Samuel preserving the people's confidence in their king without approving the request. Samuel accompanies Saul in public and still carries out the sentence.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
But he said, I have sinned, etc. Thus is displayed both the obstinate pride of Saul and the ever humble modesty of the blessed Samuel. For what is prouder than for someone, having recognized his crime by which he is shown to be a transgressor …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
33. It is clear what kind of repentance he bears who still desires to be honored. For if he truly repented of his sin, he would have desired to be dishonored rather than honored. It is fitting, therefore, to marvel at the hardness of his cast-off heart. As the man of God, carrying out the command of the Creator, says: "The Lord has cast you off, that you should not be king," on the contrary, he who receives the sentence of rejection seeks honors through the desire for exaltation. What does it mean, then, that he says: "I have sinned"?
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then he said, I have sinned,....
Is this the language of a penitent? No, but the contrary: " I have sinned, shame me now, for to me belongs shame, and no man can loathe me so much as I loathe myself." Yet how often do we meet with the copies of this hypocrisy of Saul! It is very common for those who are convicted of sin to show themselves very solicitous to be honoured before the people.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| חָטָ֔אתִי | chatati | I have sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| עַתָּ֗ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| כַּבְּדֵ֥נִי | kabedeni | honor me | H3513 → | 113 times |
| נָ֛א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| נֶ֥גֶד | neged | before | H5048 → | 151 times |
| זִקְנֵֽי־ | ziknei- | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| עַמִּ֖י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְנֶ֣גֶד | veneged | and before | H5048 → | 151 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְשׁ֣וּב | veshuv | and return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| עִמִּ֔י | ʾimi | with me | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֵ֖יתִי | vehishtachaveiti | and I will bow down | H7812 → | 172 times |
| לַֽיהוָ֥ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
חָטָ֔אתִיI have sinned
chatatiH2398 →238 times
עַתָּ֗הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
כַּבְּדֵ֥נִיhonor me
kabedeniH3513 →113 times
נָ֛אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
נֶ֥גֶדbefore
negedH5048 →151 times
זִקְנֵֽי־[the] elders of
ziknei-H2205 →178 times
עַמִּ֖יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
וְנֶ֣גֶדand before
venegedH5048 →151 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְשׁ֣וּבand return
veshuvH7725 →1056 times
עִמִּ֔יwith me
ʾimiH5973 →1050 times
וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֵ֖יתִיand I will bow down
vehishtachaveitiH7812 →172 times
לַֽיהוָ֥הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃God your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 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
Habakkuk 2:4Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright—but the righteous will live by faith—
it leads to
- Romans 1:17
For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
- Hebrews 10:38
But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
- Galatians 3:11–12
Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”
- Romans 1:17
Through
2 Timothy 3:5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
it leads to
- Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…
- Titus 1:16
They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
- Matthew 23:27–28
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.
- 1 Timothy 5:8
If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
- Isaiah 29:13
Through
Isaiah 29:13Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 33:31–33
So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest…
- Ezekiel 33:31–33
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 2; Jamieson, Fausset and 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.