1 Samuel 28:18
in 1 Samuel 28Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out His burning anger against Amalek, the LORD has done this to you today.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Because thou obeyedst not the voice of Jehovah, and didst not execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath Jehovah done this thing unto thee this day.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 28
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIs a little demon capable of prophesying concerning the entire people of God that the Lord is about to deliver Israel?…Can also a little demon know this, that after a king has been appointed with the anointing oil of a prophet, that tomorrow Saul and his sons with him will forfeit their lives?… But I cannot give to a little demon such a great power that he can prophesy concerning Saul and the people of God and he can prophesy concerning David that he will become king.
This site's exposition
given it to thy neighbour
on 1 Samuel 28:17-19
The rending of the kingdom repeats what Samuel had told Saul face to face at 15:28, spoken now a second time from beyond the grave. Verse 18 names the ground that chapter had already stated: Saul did not carry out the Lord's sentence on Amalek, the war Exodus 17 swore from generation to generation and Deuteronomy 25 commanded finished. Samuel's own word at 15:23 had set rebellion beside the sin of witchcraft, and Saul closes his reign proving the comparison true by consulting one. Tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me is carried out within a day at chapter 31, and Matthew Henry reads with me only as the common state of the dead, separate from the body, stopping short of naming what company Saul keeps there.
This site's exposition
Because you did not obey the LORD
Matthew Henry, who reads the speaker as an evil spirit, says the sin Saul once excused before Samuel in chapter 15 is now pressed on him to drive him to despair. Ennodius cited the verse on a king's duty of severity. Saul spared Amalek and brought the LORD's anger on himself.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The need of severe measures tends to crush all gentleness and compassion of heart. The testimony of Scripture supports my assertion. We read that a sovereign sinned who spared an enemy appointed by heaven to be slain. His leniency brought upon him the penalty which …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Satan had helped him to palliate and excuse that sin when Samuel was dealing with him to bring him to repentance, but now he aggravates it, to make him despair of God's mercy.
Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek - See 1Sa 15:1-9 (note) and the notes there.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר | kaasher | <as> since | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמַ֙עְתָּ֙ | shama'ta | you listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּק֣וֹל | bekol | to [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָשִׂ֥יתָ | ʾasita | you executed | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| חֲרוֹן־ | charon- | [the] burning of | H2740 → | |
| אַפּ֖וֹ | ʾapo | anger his | H639 → | 276 times |
| בַּעֲמָלֵ֑ק | baamalek | on Amalek | H6002 → | 39 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּן֙ | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הַדָּבָ֣ר | hadavar | the thing | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| עָשָֽׂה־ | ʾasah- | he has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לְךָ֥ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַיּ֥וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר<as> since
kaasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמַ֙עְתָּ֙you listened
shama'taH8085 →1159 times
בְּק֣וֹלto [the] voice of
bekolH6963 →506 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָשִׂ֥יתָyou executed
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
חֲרוֹן־[the] burning of
charon-H2740 →
אַפּ֖וֹanger his
ʾapoH639 →276 times
בַּעֲמָלֵ֑קon Amalek
baamalekH6002 →39 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּן֙-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
הַדָּבָ֣רthe thing
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
עָשָֽׂה־he has done
ʾasah-H6213 →2628 times
לְךָ֥to <the> you
lekha
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַיּ֥וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּֽה׃<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 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
Jeremiah 48:10Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:3
Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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…
- 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 destroy them, but they…
- Judges 5:23
‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of the LORD. ‘Bitterly curse her inhabitants; for they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty.’
- 2 Kings 13:19
But the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end…
- 1 Samuel 15:3
Through
1 Chronicles 10:13So 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,
it leads to
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.”
- Leviticus 20:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel; Magnus Felix Ennodius, LIFE OF ST. EPIPHANIUS; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON 1 KINGS 5.5, 5.8.