1 Samuel 15:19 (ASV)

Passage

Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of Jehovah, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah?

Nearby Context

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

1 Samuel 15:18 and Jehovah sent thee on a journey, and said, Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

1 Samuel 15:19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of Jehovah, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah?

1 Samuel 15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

1 Samuel 15:21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wherefore", "didst", "thou", "obey", "voice", "jehovah", and "upon". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wherefore" and "didst", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "and Jehovah sent thee on a journey..." into verse 20's "And Saul said unto Samuel Yea I...", so "wherefore" and "didst" 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 "wherefore" and "didst" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.