KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
To get what 1 Samuel 15:20 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “And Saul” | שָׁא֜וּל | Shaul, the name of an Edomite and two Israelites | Saul |
| “said” | וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | To say (used with great latitude) | said |
| “unto” | אֶל | Near, with or among; often in general, to | unto |
| “Samuel,” | שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל | Shemuel, the name of three Israelites | Samuel |
| “Yea,” | אֲשֶׁ֤ר | Who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc | Yea |
| “I have obeyed” | שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ | To hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.) | obeyed |
| “the voice” | בְּק֣וֹל | A voice or sound | voice |
| “of the Lord,” | יְהוָ֔ה | (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God | Lord |
| “and have gone” | וָֽאֵלֵ֕ךְ | To walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively) | gone |
| “the way” | בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ | A road (as trodden); figuratively, a course of life or mode of action, often adverb | way |
| “which” | אֲשֶׁר | Who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc | which |
| “the Lord” | יְהוָ֑ה | (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God | Lord |
| “sent” | שְׁלָחַ֣נִי | To send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications) | sent |
| “me, and have brought” | וָֽאָבִ֗יא | To go or come (in a wide variety of applications) | brought |
| “Agag” | אֲגַג֙ | Agag, a title of Amalekitish kings | Agag |
| “the king” | מֶ֣לֶךְ | A king | king |
| “of Amalek,” | עֲמָלֵ֔ק | Amalek, a descendant of Esau; also his posterity and their country | Amalek |
| “and have utterly destroyed” | הֶֽחֱרַֽמְתִּי׃ | To seclude; specifically (by a ban) to devote to religious uses (especially destruction); physical and reflexive, to be blunt as to the nose | utterly destroyed |
| “the Amalekites.” | עֲמָלֵ֖ק | Amalek, a descendant of Esau; also his posterity and their country | Amalekites |
See 1 Samuel 15:20 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
22 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.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.