1 Samuel 15:8 (YLT)

Passage

and he catcheth Agag king of Amalek alive, and all the people he hath devoted by the mouth of the sword;

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 15:6 and Saul saith unto the Kenite, `Go, turn aside, go down from the midst of Amalek, lest I consume thee with it, and thou didst kindness with all the sons of Israel, in their going up out of Egypt;' and the Kenite turneth aside from the midst of Amalek.

1 Samuel 15:7 And Saul smiteth Amalek from Havilah--thy going in to Shur, which <FI>is<Fi> on the front of Egypt,

1 Samuel 15:8 and he catcheth Agag king of Amalek alive, and all the people he hath devoted by the mouth of the sword;

1 Samuel 15:9 and Saul hath pity--also the people--on Agag, and on the best of the flock, and of the herd, and of the seconds, and on the lambs, and on all that <FI>is<Fi> good, and have not been willing to devote them; and all the work, despised and wasted--it they devoted.

1 Samuel 15:10 And the word of Jehovah is unto Samuel, saying,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "catcheth", "agag", "king", "amalek", "alive", "people", "hath", and "devoted". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "catcheth" and "agag", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And Saul smiteth Amalek from Havilah--thy going..." into verse 9's "and Saul hath pity--also the people--on Agag...", so "catcheth" and "agag" 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 "catcheth" and "agag" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.