Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Samuel 15:31 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 31. 31So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Records Samuel's return and Saul's worship without reversing the rejection.
Saul confesses fear of the people and asks Samuel to turn again
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Samuel 15:24–15:31. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Samuel 15:24–15:31
The line at 1 Samuel 15:31 records Samuel's return and Saul's worship without reversing the rejection. Its place in 1 Samuel 15:24–15:31 matters because Saul confesses fear of the people and asks pardon, Samuel refuses to reverse rejection, the torn mantle symbolizes transferred kingship, and Saul still asks for honor before elders.
Follow the Context
- Opening movement: Saul confesses fear of the people and asks pardon, Samuel refuses to reverse rejection, the torn mantle symbolizes transferred kingship.
- Developing movement or outcome: Saul still asks for honor before elders.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
First Samuel 15:31 does not stand alone from 1 Samuel 15:24–15:31: it records Samuel's return and Saul's worship without reversing the rejection. Confession does not automatically restore office, public image must not outrank repair, and the torn cloth does not authorize certainty about modern political succession.
What Remains True
Records Samuel's return and Saul's worship without reversing the rejection. Within 1 Samuel 15:24–15:31, this contribution supports the unit's enduring claim: Faithful reading of “Saul confesses but seeks public honor” keeps truth, power, and human cost together. Confession does not automatically restore office, public image must not outrank repair, and the torn cloth does not authorize certainty about modern political succession.
Teach It Back
Explain 1 Samuel 15:31's precise role in 1 Samuel 15:24–15:31. Include the first historical horizon, material uncertainty, one person or cost a leader-centered reading could obscure, and one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Samuel 15:24–15:31 — Saul confesses but seeks public honorSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Saul's confession may contain genuine acknowledgment and continued reputation management; the text shows both without giving readers access to his full interior state.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV words, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete unit coverage.
Exact location: 1 Samuel 15:24–15:31, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology, with the two KJV-Hebrew versification shifts stated rather than silently offset.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Sam.xml, OSIS 15:24–15:31; KJV 20:42 spans Hebrew 20:42–21:1, KJV 21:1–15 maps to Hebrew 21:2–16, KJV 23:29 maps to Hebrew 24:1, and KJV 24:1–22 maps to Hebrew 24:2–23
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: 1 Samuel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only the translator notes actually printed for these verses, used for lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and older-English controls.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Notes, 1 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 504–543, exact tc/tn/sn entries attached to 15:24–15:31
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
The Book of Samuel: Its Composition, Structure and Significance as a Historiographical Source
Moshe Garsiel
The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 10.5, 2010
Supports: One relatively early integrated/two-edition account of composition, structure, and historiographic value, retained as a contested model.
Exact location: Garsiel, JHS 10.5 (2010), pp. 1–42, named structural or composition discussion covering the movement that includes 1 Samuel 15:24–15:31
Open source ↗scholarly monograph frontmatter and table of contents
The Theology of the Book of Samuel
John Goldingay
Cambridge University Press, 2024
Supports: Only the publisher-visible book architecture and theological scope; the paywalled body is not treated as inspected.
Exact location: Goldingay, The Theology of the Book of Samuel (2024), official frontmatter and TOC: 1 Samuel 13:1–20:42[21:1], pp. 77–110
Open source ↗scholarly handbook chapter abstract and metadata
Israelite State Formation and Early Monarchy in History and Biblical Historiography
Walter Dietrich
The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible, 2020
Supports: Publisher-visible alternative framing of Israelite state formation, early monarchy, history, and biblical historiography; paywalled detail is not attributed.
Exact location: Dietrich, Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books (2020), pp. 94–108, official abstract and page range
Open source ↗scholarly monograph abstract and contents
Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel
Rachelle Gilmour
Oxford University Press, 2021 online; 2022 print
Supports: One literary, ethical, and political account of divine and human violence; publisher-visible scope does not establish consensus.
Exact location: Gilmour, Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel (2021/2022), official abstract and TOC: relevant discussion for 1 Samuel 15:24–15:31, including 1 Samuel 12 pp. 71–81, Saul's rejection pp. 90–139, Eli's house pp. 140–150, or ark violence pp. 154–185 as applicable
Open source ↗