1 Samuel 15 · Verse 21

1 Samuel 15:21

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.
1 Samuel 15:21, King James Version

1 Samuel 15:21 in other translations

BSBThe troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
WEBBut the people took of the plunder, sheep and cattle, the best of the devoted things, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”
ASVBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.
YLTand the people taketh of the spoil of the flock and herd, the first part of the devoted thing, for sacrifice to Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.'
DARBYBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.
BBEBut the people took some of their goods, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which were put to the curse, to make an offering of them to the Lord your God in Gilgal.
WebsterBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

What does 1 Samuel 15:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 15:13-23

13-23. 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. Samuel saw the real state of the case, and…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 15:13-23 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 To sacrifice unto the Lord - Thus he endeavors to excuse the people. They did not take the spoil in order to enrich themselves by it, but to sacrifice unto the Lord; and did not this motive justify their conduct?

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 15:10-23

Repentance in God is not a change of mind, as it is in us, but a change of method. The change was in Saul; "He is turned back from following me." Hereby he made God his enemy. Samuel spent a whole night in pleading for Saul. The rejection of sinners is the grief of believers: God delights not in their death, nor should we. Saul boasts to Samuel of his obedience. Thus sinners think, by justifying themselves, to…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 15:10-23 →

1 Samuel 15:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּקַּ֨חvai.yi.Kachand it tookH3947
הָעָ֧םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
מֵהַשָּׁלָ֛לme.ha.sha.Lalfrom the plunderH7998
צֹ֥אןtzonsheepH6629
וּבָקָ֖רu.va.Karand cattleH1241
רֵאשִׁ֣יתre.Shit[the] choicest ofH7225
הַחֵ֑רֶםha.Che.remthe object[s] for destructionH2764
לִזְבֹּ֛חַliz.Bo.achto sacrifice [them]H2076
לַֽיהוָ֥הla.Yah.wehto YahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ'e.lo.Hei.khaGod yourH430
בַּגִּלְגָּֽל\׃ba.gil.Galin <the> GilgalH1537

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 15:21

  • 1 Samuel 15:15

    And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

  • Exodus 32:22-23

    And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

  • Genesis 3:13

    And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the people.
15; Ge 3:13; Ex 32:22,23

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 15:20

    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.

  • 1 Samuel 15:21

    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.

  • 1 Samuel 15:22

    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.

Read all of 1 Samuel 15

1 Samuel 15:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Mas el pueblo tomó del despojo ovejas y vacas, las primicias del anatema, para sacrificarlas á Jehová tu Dios en Gilgal.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le peuple a pris, dans le butin, du menu et du gros bétail, comme prémices de ce qui était voué à l’exécration, pour sacrifier à l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, à Guilgal.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Aber das Volk hat von der Beute genommen: Klein- und Rindvieh, das Vorzüglichste des Verbannten, um Jehova, deinem Gott, zu opfern in Gilgal.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Tulit autem de præda populus oves et boves, primitias eorum quæ cæsa sunt, ut immolet Domino Deo suo in Galgalis.