1 Samuel 15:22

15:22 Then Samuel said,

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as he does in obedience? ¹ 

Certainly, ²  obedience ³  is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than ⁴  the fat of rams.

1 Samuel 2:15-16

2:15 Even before they burned the fat, the priest’s attendant would come and say to the person who was making the sacrifice, “Hand over some meat for the priest to roast! He won’t take boiled meat from you, but only raw.” ⁵  2:16 If the individual said to him, “First let the fat be burned away, and then take for yourself whatever you wish,” he would say, “No! ⁶  Hand it over right now! If you don’t, I will take it forcibly!”

[15:22]  ¹ tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:22]  ² tn Heb “look.”

[15:22]  ³ tn Heb “listening.”

[15:22]  ⁴ tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).

[2:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “living.”

[2:16]  ⁹ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss (“no”) rather than the Kethib and MT, which read “to him.”