1 Samuel 15:34 (LSB)

Passage

Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 15:32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag near to me, the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him in chains. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death has departed.”

1 Samuel 15:33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before Yahweh at Gilgal.

1 Samuel 15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul.

1 Samuel 15:35 So Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel grieved over Saul. And Yahweh regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "samuel", "went", "ramah", "saul", "house", and "gibeah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "samuel" and "went", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 33's "But Samuel said As your sword has..." into verse 35's "So Samuel did not see Saul again...", so "samuel" and "went" 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 "went" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.