1 Samuel 2:30

2:30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say ¹  that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve ²  me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be! ³  For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed!

1 Samuel 7:3-4

7:3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. ⁴  Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you ⁵  from the hand of the Philistines.” 7:4 So the Israelites ⁶  removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the Lord.

1 Samuel 12:14-15

12:14 If you fear the Lord, serving him and obeying him ⁷  and not rebelling against what he says, ⁸  and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God, all will be well. ⁹  12:15 But if you don’t obey ¹⁰  the Lord and rebel against what the Lord says, the hand of the Lord will be against both you and your king. ¹¹ 

1 Samuel 12:20-25

12:20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed sinned. ¹²  However, don’t turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. 12:21 You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty. ¹³  12:22 The Lord will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation. ¹⁴  The Lord was pleased to make you his own people. 12:23 As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright. 12:24 However, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Just look at the great things he has done for you! 12:25 But if you continue to do evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

1 Samuel 15:22-23

15:22 Then Samuel said,

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as he does in obedience? ¹⁵ 

Certainly, ¹⁶  obedience ¹⁷  is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than ¹⁸  the fat of rams.

15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as ¹⁹  king.”

1 Samuel 15:26

15:26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”

1 Samuel 16:7

16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by ²⁰  his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. ²¹  People look on the outward appearance, ²²  but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 26:23

26:23 The Lord rewards each man for his integrity and loyalty. ²³  Even though today the Lord delivered you into my hand, I was not willing to extend my hand against the Lord’s chosen one.

[2:30]  ¹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[2:30]  ² tn Heb “walk about before.”

[2:30]  ³ tn Heb “may it be far removed from me.”

[7:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.

[7:3]  sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.

[7:3]  ⁵ tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[7:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

[12:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “and you listen to his voice.”

[12:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.” So also in v. 15.

[12:14]  ⁹ tn The words “all will be well” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”

[12:15]  ¹¹ tc The LXX reads “your king” rather than the MT’s “your fathers.” The latter makes little sense here. Some follow MT, but translate “as it was against your fathers.” See P. K. McCarter, 1 Samuel (AB), 212.

[12:20]  ¹² tn Heb “you have done all this evil.”

[12:21]  ¹³ tn Or “useless” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “nothing”; NASB “futile”; TEV “are not real.”

[12:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “on account of his great name.”

[15:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “look.”

[15:22]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “listening.”

[15:22]  ¹⁸ tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).

[15:23]  ¹⁹ tn Or “from [being].”

[16:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “don’t look toward.”

[16:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “for not that which the man sees.” The translation follows the LXX, which reads, “for not as man sees does God see.” The MT has suffered from homoioteleuton or homoioarcton. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 274.

[16:7]  ²² tn Heb “to the eyes.”

[26:23]  ²³ tn Heb “and the Lord returns to the man his righteousness and his faithfulness.”