1 Samuel 15:17 (YLT)

Passage

And Samuel saith, `Art not thou, if thou <FI>art<Fi> little in thine own eyes, head of the tribes of Israel? and Jehovah doth anoint thee for king over Israel,

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 15:15 And Saul saith, `From Amalek they have brought them, because the people had pity on the best of the flock, and of the herd, in order to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God, and the remnant we have devoted.'

1 Samuel 15:16 And Samuel saith unto Saul, `Desist, and I declare to thee that which Jehovah hath spoken unto me to-night;' and he saith to him, `Speak.'

1 Samuel 15:17 And Samuel saith, `Art not thou, if thou <FI>art<Fi> little in thine own eyes, head of the tribes of Israel? and Jehovah doth anoint thee for king over Israel,

1 Samuel 15:18 and Jehovah sendeth thee in the way, and saith, Go, and thou hast devoted the sinners, the Amalekite, and fought against them till they are consumed;

1 Samuel 15:19 and why hast thou not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah--and dost fly unto the spoil, and dost do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah?'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "samuel", "saith", "thou", "little", "thine", "eyes", and "head". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "samuel" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And Samuel saith unto Saul Desist and..." into verse 18's "and Jehovah sendeth thee in the way...", so "samuel" and "saith" 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 "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.