1 Samuel 15:23

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and presumption is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the LORD’s orders, he has rejected you from being king.”

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כִּ֤י חַטַּאת־קֶ֙סֶם֙ מֶ֔רִי וְאָ֥וֶן וּתְרָפִ֖ים הַפְצַ֑ר יַ֗עַן מָאַ֙סְתָּ֙ אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה וַיִּמְאָסְךָ֖ מִמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ ס

Transliteration

For kî ḥaṭṭaʾṯ qesem merî and wᵊʾāwen and ûṯᵊrāpîm hapṣar; yaʿan māʾastā ʾeṯ dᵊḇar YHWH, and wayyimʾāsḵā from mimmeleḵ.

Grammar Details

• *kî*: conjunction - for/because
• *ḥaṭṭaʾṯ*: noun, feminine singular construct - sin of
• *qesem*: noun, masculine singular - divination
• *merî*: noun, masculine singular - rebellion
• *wᵊʾāwen*: waw-conjunctive + noun, masculine singular - and iniquity/idolatry
• *ûṯᵊrāpîm*: waw-conjunctive + noun, masculine plural - and household idols/teraphim
• *hapṣar*: article + noun, masculine singular - stubbornness/pushing/pressing
• *yaʿan*: conjunction - because
• *māʾastā*: qal perfect, 2nd masculine singular - you rejected
• *ʾeṯ*: direct object marker
• *dᵊḇar*: noun, masculine singular construct - word of
• *YHWH*: proper noun, divine name - Yahweh/LORD
• *wayyimʾāsḵā*: waw-consecutive + qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular + 2nd masculine singular suffix - and he rejected you
• *mimmeleḵ*: preposition + noun, masculine singular - from being king

Word Meanings

• *ḥaṭṭaʾṯ*: sin/offense of
• *qesem*: divination/sorcery
• *merî*: rebellion/defiance
• *wᵊʾāwen*: and iniquity/wickedness/idolatry
• *ûṯᵊrāpîm*: and household idols/teraphim/idolatry
• *hapṣar*: stubbornness/obstinacy/pressing
• *yaʿan*: because/since/on account of
• *māʾastā*: you rejected/despised/refused
• *dᵊḇar*: word/command of
• *wayyimʾāsḵā*: and he rejected/despised you
• *mimmeleḵ*: from being king/from kingship

Referenced Verses

• 1 Sam 13:14 : 14 But now your kingdom will not continue! The LORD has sought out for himself a man who is loyal to him and the LORD has appointed him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the LORD commanded you.”
• 1 Sam 16:1 : 1 Samuel Anoints David as King The LORD said to Samuel,“How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons.”
• 2 Kgs 17:15-20 : 15 They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to the LORD. They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the LORD’s command. 16 They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, and worshiped Baal. 17 They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD and made him angry. 18 So the LORD was furious with Israel and rejected them; only the tribe of Judah was left. 19 Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the LORD their God; they followed Israel’s example. 20 So the LORD rejected all of Israel’s descendants; he humiliated them and handed them over to robbers, until he had thrown them from his presence.
• 1 Chr 28:9 : 9 “And you, Solomon my son, obey the God of your father and serve him with a submissive attitude and a willing spirit, for the LORD examines all minds and understands every motive of one’s thoughts. If you seek him, he will let you find him, but if you abandon him, he will reject you permanently.
• Job 34:37 : 37 For he adds transgression to his sin; in our midst he claps his hands, and multiplies his words against God.”
• Ps 107:11 : 11 because they had rebelled against God’s commands, and rejected the instructions of the Most High.
• Isa 8:19 : 19 Darkness Turns to Light as an Ideal King Arrives They will say to you,“Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?”
• Isa 19:3 : 3 The Egyptians will panic, and I will confuse their strategy. They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead, from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians.
• Jer 28:16 : 16 So the LORD says,‘I will most assuredly remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the LORD.’”
• Jer 29:32 : 32 Because he has done this,” the LORD says,“I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his whole family. There will not be any of them left to experience the good things that I will do for my people. I, the LORD, affirm it! For he counseled rebellion against the LORD.”’”
• Ezek 2:5-8 : 5 And as for them, whether they listen or not– for they are a rebellious house– they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words– even though briers and thorns surround you and you live among scorpions– do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, for they are a rebellious house! 7 You must speak my words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. 8 As for you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you: Do not rebel like that rebellious house! Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”
• 2 Cor 6:16 : 16 And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said,“I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
• Gal 5:20 : 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions,
• Rev 21:8 : 8 But as for the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second death.”
• Rev 22:15 : 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood!
• Gen 31:19 : 19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole the household idols that belonged to her father.
• Gen 31:34 : 34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle and sat on them.) Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them.
• Exod 22:18 : 18 “You must not allow a sorceress to live.
• Lev 20:6 : 6 Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums“‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.
• Lev 20:27 : 27 Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums“‘A man or woman who has in them a spirit of the dead or a familiar spirit must be put to death. They must pelt them with stones; their blood guilt is on themselves.’”
• Num 14:9 : 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection has turned aside from them, but the LORD is with us. Do not fear them!”
• Deut 9:7 : 7 The History of Israel’s Stubbornness Remember– don’t ever forget– how you provoked the LORD your God in the wilderness; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him.
• Deut 9:24 : 24 You have been rebelling against him from the very first day I knew you!
• Deut 18:10-11 : 10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, anyone who practices divination, an omen reader, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, 11 one who casts spells, one who conjures up spirits, a practitioner of the occult, or a necromancer.
• Josh 22:16-19 : 16 “The entire community of the LORD says,‘Why have you disobeyed the God of Israel by turning back today from following the LORD? You built an altar for yourselves and have rebelled today against the LORD. 17 The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the LORD. 18 Now today you dare to turn back from following the LORD! You are rebelling today against the LORD; tomorrow he may break out in anger against the entire community of Israel. 19 But if your own land is impure, cross over to the LORD’s own land, where the LORD himself lives, and settle down among us. But don’t rebel against the LORD or us by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the LORD our God.
• 1 Sam 2:30 : 30 Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, says,‘I really did say that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve me forever.’ But now the LORD says,‘May it never be! For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed!
• 1 Sam 12:14-15 : 14 If you fear the LORD, serving him and obeying him and not rebelling against what he says, and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the LORD your God, all will be well. 15 But if you don’t obey the LORD and rebel against what the LORD says, the hand of the LORD will be against both you and your king.