1 Samuel 15:28 (DBY)

Passage

Then Samuel said to him, Jehovah has rent the kingdom of Israel from thee to-day, and has given it to thy neighbour, who is better than thou.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 15:26 And Samuel said to Saul, I will not turn again with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah has rejected thee from being king over Israel.

1 Samuel 15:27 And as Samuel turned to go away, [Saul] laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

1 Samuel 15:28 Then Samuel said to him, Jehovah has rent the kingdom of Israel from thee to-day, and has given it to thy neighbour, who is better than thou.

1 Samuel 15:29 And also the Hope of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.

1 Samuel 15:30 And he said, I have sinned; honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "samuel", "said", "jehovah", "rent", "kingdom", "israel", "thee", and "to-day". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "samuel" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 27's "And as Samuel turned to go away..." into verse 29's "And also the Hope of Israel will...", so "samuel" and "said" 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 "samuel" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.