1 Samuel 15 · Verse 24

1 Samuel 15:24

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
1 Samuel 15:24, King James Version

1 Samuel 15:24 in other translations

BSBThen Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
WEBSaul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
ASVAnd Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
YLTAnd Saul saith unto Samuel, ‘I have sinned, for I passed over the command of Jehovah, and thy words; because I have feared the people, I also hearken to their voice;
DARBYAnd Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words; for I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice.
BBEAnd Saul said to Samuel, Great is my sin: for I have gone against the orders of the Lord and against your words: because, fearing the people, I did what they said.
WebsterAnd Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words; because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

What does 1 Samuel 15:24 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 15:24-26
24-26. I have sinned ... turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord--The erring, but proud and obstinate monarch was now humbled. He was conscience-smitten for the moment, but his confession proceeded not from sincere repentance, but from a sense of danger and desire of averting the sentence denounced against him. For the sake of public appearance, he besought Samuel not to allow their serious differences to transpire, but to join with him in a public act of worship. Under the influence of his painfully agitated feelings, he designed to offer sacrifice, partly to express his gratitude for the recent victory, and partly to implore mercy and a reversal of his doom. It was, from another angle, a politic scheme, that Samuel might be betrayed into a countenancing of his design in reserving the cattle for sacrificing. Samuel declined to accompany him. I feared the people, and obeyed their voice--This was a different reason from the former he had assigned. It was the language of a man driven to extremities, and even had it been true, the principles expounded by Samuel showed that it could have been no extenuation of the offense. The prophet then pronounced the irreversible sentence of the rejection of Saul and his family. He was judicially cut off for his disobedience.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 24 I have sinned - because I feared the people - This was the best excuse he could make for himself; but had he feared God more, he need have feared the People less.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 15:24-31
There were several signs of hypocrisy in Saul's repentance. 1. He besought Samuel only, and seemed most anxious to stand right in his opinion, and to gain his favour. 2. He excuses his fault, even when confessing it; that is never the way of a true penitent. 3. All his care was to save his credit, and preserve his interest in the people. Men are fickle and alter their minds, feeble and cannot effect their purposes; something happens they could not foresee, by which their measures are broken; but with God it is not so. The Strength of Israel will not lie.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

1 Samuel 15:24 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.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
שָׁא֤וּלsha.'UlSaulH7586
אֶל\־'el-toH413
שְׁמוּאֵל֙she.mu.'ElSamuelH8050
חָטָ֔אתִיcha.Ta.tiI have sinnedH2398
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
עָבַ֥רְתִּי'a.Var.tiI have transgressedH5674
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
פִּֽי\־pi-[the] mouth ofH6310
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
דְּבָרֶ֑יךָde.va.Rei.khawords yourH1697
כִּ֤יkiforH3588
יָרֵ֙אתִי֙ya.Re.tiI fearedH3372
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָעָ֔םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
וָאֶשְׁמַ֖עva.'esh.Ma'and I listenedH8085
בְּקוֹלָֽם\׃be.ko.Lamto voice theirH6963

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

Cross references for 1 Samuel 15:24

  • 2 Samuel 12:13

    And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

  • Isaiah 51:12-13

    I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?

  • Proverbs 29:25

    The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

  • Galatians 1:10

    For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

  • Numbers 22:34

    And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.

  • Exodus 23:2

    Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

  • Matthew 27:4

    Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

  • 1 Samuel 15:30

    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.

  • Revelation 21:8

    But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

  • Exodus 9:27

    And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

  • Genesis 3:12

    And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

  • 1 Samuel 2:29

    Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I have sinned.
30; Ex 9:27; 10:16; Nu 22:34; 2Sa 12:13; Mt 27:4
I feared.
9,15; Ex 23:2; Job 31:34; Pr 29:25; Isa 51:12,13; Lu 23:20-25
Ga 1:10; Re 21:8
obeyed.
2:29; Ge 3:12,17; Jer 38:5

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

Context

  • 1 Samuel 15:23

    For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

  • 1 Samuel 15:24

    And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

  • 1 Samuel 15:25

    Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.

Read all of 1 Samuel 15

1 Samuel 15:24 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces Saúl dijo á Samuel: Yo he pecado; que he quebrantado el dicho de Jehová y tus palabras: porque temí al pueblo, consentí á la voz de ellos. Perdona pues ahora mi pecado,
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Saül dit à Samuel: J’ai péché, car j’ai transgressé le commandement de l’ Éternel et tes paroles, car j’ai craint le peuple et j’ai écouté leur voix.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Saul sprach zu Samuel: Ich habe gesündigt, daß ich den Befehl Jehovas und deine Worte übertreten habe; denn ich habe das Volk gefürchtet und auf seine Stimme gehört.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixitque Saul ad Samuelem: Peccavi, quia prævaricatus sum sermonem Domini et verba tua, timens populum, et obediens voci eorum.