1 Samuel 15:32 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:32-35

Samuel, as a prophet, is here set over kings, Jer. 1:10. I. He destroys king Agag, doubtless by such special direction from heaven as none now can pretend to. He hewed Agag in pieces. Some think he only ordered it to be done; or perhaps he did it with his own hands, as a sacrifice to God's injured justice (1 Sam. 15:33), and sacrifices used to be cut in pieces. Now observe in this, 1. How Agag's present vain hopes were frustrated: He came delicately, in a stately manner, to show that he was a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:32

Then said Samuel, bring you hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites ,.... This he said very probably to some of Saul's officers, and in his presence, and before all the people met together for sacrifice: and Agag came unto him delicately ; fat and plump, as the Vulgate Latin version, and yet trembling, as that and the Septuagint; well dressed, in the garb and habit of a king, and with the air and majesty of one; or with pleasure and joy, as Kimchi, choosing rather to die than to be... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 15:32

Agag came unto him delicately - The Septuagint have τρεμων , trembling; the original, מעדנת maadannoth , delicacies; probably איש ish , man, understood; a man of delights, a pleasure-taker: the Vulgate, pinguissimus et tremens , "very fat and trembling." Surely the bitterness of death is past - Almost all the versions render this differently from ours. Surely death is bitter, is their general sense; and this seems to be the true meaning. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:32

Delicately . The Septuagint and Vulgate translate this word trembling, and the Syriac omits, probably from inability to give its meaning. Most commentators render cheerfully, joyfully, forming it from the same root as Eden, the garden of joy (comp. Psalms 36:8 , where Eden is translated pleasure ) . The very word, however, occurs in Job 38:31 , where the A.V. renders it bands, and this seems the right sense: "Agag came unto him in fetters." The idea that Agag came cheerfully is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:32-35

Painful duties. The facts are— 1 . Samuel summons Agag into his presence and hews him in pieces. 2 . Samuel departs from Saul, and though mourning for him, no longer holds any official connection with him. The effect of Saul's disobedience on the people would have been disastrous were the original command to be in any way evaded; and, therefore, though it was no part of the prophet's ordinary functions to act as executioner, Samuel so far deviated from his usual course, and put his... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Samuel 15:32

Delicately - This phrase is very obscure. The meaning of the word so rendered is “dainties, delights” Genesis 49:20; Proverbs 29:17; Lamentations 4:5, which hardly gives a tolerable sense here. Some understand it “fawningly, flatteringly,” with a view of appeasing Samuel. (Others alter the reading, and translate “in bonds.”)Surely the bitterness ... - Agag hopes that his life will be spared, and so expresses his confident belief that the bitterness of death is over. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Samuel 15:32-33

1 Samuel 15:32-33. Agag came unto him delicately Hebrew, מעדנת , magnadannoth, in delights, or ornaments; that is, he came not like an offender, expecting the sentence of death, but in the garb, and gesture, and majesty of a king. And Agag said Or, For Agag said; this being mentioned as the reason why he came so. Surely the bitterness of death is past I, who have escaped death from a warlike prince and his soldiers in the fury of battle, shall certainly not suffer it from a... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:1-35

War against the Amalekites (15:1-35)The Amalekites came under the same curse as those Canaanite nations that were to be destroyed (15:1-3; cf. Exodus 17:8-16; Deuteronomy 20:16-18; Deuteronomy 25:17-19). Again Saul’s obedience was tested, and again he failed. His kingly power gave him no right to alter God-given instructions to suit himself (4-9).God sent Samuel to tell Saul of the consequences of his disobedience (10-16; cf. 13:13-14). Religious sacrifices and military victories were no... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Samuel 15:32

delicately = in fetters (Job 38:31 ). Septuagint has "trembling"; Vulgate has "sleek and trembling". read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Samuel 15:32

SAMUEL EXECUTES GOD'S SENTENCE UPON AGAG"Then Samuel said, "Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites." And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, "Surely the bitterness of death is past." And Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal."The chronology here, like that in most of Samuel, is very uncertain; but it appears that this episode occurred immediately after Samuel... read more