Verse
1 Samuel 15:22 — And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings…
“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.”
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Read it in context
The verses around 1 Samuel 15:22.
20And 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.
21But 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.
22And 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.
23For 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.
24And 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.
Verse explanation
Samuel sums up here an idea that reappears in several prophets after him: sacrifice does not replace obedience. Saul had kept the best of the livestock “to sacrifice unto the Lord,” but that did not undo the fact that he had disobeyed a direct order to destroy everything.
From the 1 Samuel 15 study in Bible in Stories.
1 Samuel 15:22 in other versions
The same verse in the 4 Bible versions we have on the site.
- KJV · King James
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 the chapter in this version → - ARC · Almeida 1911Português
Porém Samuel disse: Tem porventura o Senhor tanto prazer em holocaustos e sacrificios, como em que se obedeça á palavra do Senhor? eis que o obedecer é melhor do que o sacrificar, e o attender melhor é do que a gordura de carneiros.
Read the chapter in this version → - BLIVRE · Bíblia LivrePortuguês
E Samuel disse: Tem o SENHOR tanto contentamento com os holocaustos e vítimas, como em obedecer às palavras do SENHOR? Certamente o obedecer é melhor que os sacrifícios; e o prestar atenção que a gordura dos carneiros:
Read the chapter in this version → - VBL · Versión Biblia LibreEspañol
¿Qué crees que prefiere el Señor? ¿Los holocaustos y los sacrificios? ¿O que seas obediente a su palabra?” le preguntó Samuel. “¡Escucha! ¡La obediencia es mejor que los sacrificios! Prestar atención es más importante que ofrecer la grasa de los carneros.
Read the chapter in this version →
In other languages: Português (1 Samuel 15:22) · Español (1 Samuel 15:22)
More verses about obedience
- John 14:15If ye love me, keep my commandments.
- Deuteronomy 28:1And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe…
- Joshua 1:8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that…
- James 1:22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
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