1 Samuel 15:26 (LSB)

Passage

But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed trespassed against the command of Yahweh and your words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

1 Samuel 15:25 So now, please forgive my sin and return with me, that I may worship Yahweh.”

1 Samuel 15:26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

1 Samuel 15:27 Then Samuel turned to go, but Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.

1 Samuel 15:28 So Samuel said to him, “Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "samuel", "said", "saul", "return", "rejected", "word", and "yahweh". 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 25's "So now please forgive my sin and..." into verse 27's "Then Samuel turned to go but Saul...", 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.