1 Samuel 15:15 (KJV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 15:13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.

1 Samuel 15:14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

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.

1 Samuel 15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.

1 Samuel 15:17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "saul", "said", "brought", "amalekites", "people", "spared", and "best". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "saul", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "And Samuel said What meaneth then this..." into verse 16's "Then Samuel said unto Saul Stay and...", so "sheep" and "saul" belong inside that flow. In 1 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sheep" and "saul" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.