1 Samuel 15:23 · KJV
“For rebellion {is as} the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness {is as} iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from {being} king. {witchcraft: Heb. divination}”
— 1 Samuel 15:23
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD {as great} delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey {is} better than sacrifice, {and} to hearken than the fat of rams.
And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
1 Samuel 15 — Context
But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
22And Samuel said, Hath the LORD {as great} delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey {is} better than sacrifice, {and} to hearken than the fat of rams.
23For rebellion {is as} the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness {is as} iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from {being} king. {witchcraft: Heb. divination}
24And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
25Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
Cross References
Jeremiah 28:16
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD. {rebellion: Heb. revolt}
1 Samuel 13:14
But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him {to be} captain over his people, because thou hast not kept {that} which the LORD commanded thee.
Leviticus 20:6
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
Galatians 5:20
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Jeremiah 29:32
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD. {rebellion: Heb. revolt}
2 Corinthians 6:16
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in {them}; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Deuteronomy 18:10-11
There shall not be found among you {any one} that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, {or} that useth divination, {or} an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Joshua 22:16-19
Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass {is} this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?