1 Samuel 15:3 (KJV)

Passage

Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 15:1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.

1 Samuel 15:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

1 Samuel 15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

1 Samuel 15:4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

1 Samuel 15:5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "smite", "amalek", "utterly", "destroy", "spare", "slay", and "both". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "smite", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Thus saith the LORD of hosts I..." into verse 4's "And Saul gathered the people together and...", so "sheep" and "smite" 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 "smite" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.