1 Samuel 15:30 (YLT)

Passage

And he saith, `I have sinned; now, honour me, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn back with me; and I have bowed myself to Jehovah thy God.'

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 15:28 And Samuel saith unto him, `Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee to-day, and given it to thy neighbour who is better than thou;

1 Samuel 15:29 and also, the Pre-eminence of Israel doth not lie nor repent, for He <FI>is<Fi> not a man to be penitent.'

1 Samuel 15:30 And he saith, `I have sinned; now, honour me, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn back with me; and I have bowed myself to Jehovah thy God.'

1 Samuel 15:31 And Samuel turneth back after Saul, and Saul boweth himself to Jehovah;

1 Samuel 15:32 and Samuel saith, `Bring ye nigh unto me Agag king of Amalek,' and Agag cometh unto him daintily, and Agag saith, `Surely the bitterness of death hath turned aside.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saith", "sinned", "honour", "pray", "thee", "before", "elders", and "people". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saith" and "sinned", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 29's "and also the Pre-eminence of Israel doth..." into verse 31's "And Samuel turneth back after Saul and...", so "saith" and "sinned" 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 "saith" and "sinned" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.