1 Samuel 15:21 (DRB)

Passage

But the people took of the spoils, sheep and oxen, as the firstfruits of those things that were slain, to offer sacrifice to the Lord their God in Galgal.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 15:19 Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of the Lord: but hast turned to the prey, and hast done evil in the eyes of the Lord?

1 Samuel 15:20 And Saul said to Samuel: Yea, I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and have walked in the way by which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag, the king of Amalec, and Amalec I have slain.

1 Samuel 15:21 But the people took of the spoils, sheep and oxen, as the firstfruits of those things that were slain, to offer sacrifice to the Lord their God in Galgal.

1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said: Doth the Lord desire holocausts and victims, and not rather that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices: and to hearken rather than to offer the fat or rams.

1 Samuel 15:23 Because it is like the sin of witchcraft, to rebel: and like the crime of idolatry, to refuse to obey. Forasmuch, therefore, as thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord hath also rejected thee from being king.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "people", "took", "spoils", "oxen", "firstfruits", "things", and "slain". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "people", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And Saul said to Samuel Yea I..." into verse 22's "And Samuel said Doth the Lord desire...", so "sheep" and "people" 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 "people" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.