1 Samuel 15:18 (GNV)

Passage

And the Lord sent thee on a iourney, and saide, Goe, and destroy those sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them, vntill thou destroy them.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 15:16 Againe Samuel saide to Saul, Let me tell thee what the Lord hath saide to me this night. And he said vnto him, Say on.

1 Samuel 15:17 Then Samuel saide, When thou wast litle in thine owne sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord anointed thee King ouer Israel.

1 Samuel 15:18 And the Lord sent thee on a iourney, and saide, Goe, and destroy those sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them, vntill thou destroy them.

1 Samuel 15:19 Nowe wherefore hast thou not obeyed the voyce of the Lord, but hast turned to the pray, and hast done wickedly in the sight of the Lord?

1 Samuel 15:20 And Saul saide vnto Samuel, Yea, I haue obeyed the voyce of the Lord, and haue gone the way which the Lord sent me, and haue brought Agag the King of Amalek, and haue destroyed the Amalekites.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "sent", "thee", "iourney", "saide", "destroy", "sinners", and "amalekites". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "sent", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Then Samuel saide When thou wast litle..." into verse 19's "Nowe wherefore hast thou not obeyed the...", so "lord" and "sent" 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 "lord" and "sent" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.