1 Samuel 15:29

1 SAMUEL—NOTE ON 1 Samuel 15:29 Verses 1 Samuel 15:11 and 1 Samuel 15:35 say that God regretted making Saul king, while here Samuel denies that God will ever lie or have regret. The term for “have regret” can be translated “relent” or “change one’s mind” (e.g., Exodus 32:14; Numbers 23:19; Psalms 106:45; Jonah 3:9) or “have pity or compassion” (Deuteronomy 32:36; Judges 2:18; Psalms 135:14) as well as “be sorry” or “have regret” (see Genesis 6:6). Thus the term as used in 1 Samuel 15:11, 1 Samuel 15:35 describes God’s own feeling of sorrow that Saul had turned out as he did. In v. 1 Samuel 15:29, God will not change his mind concerning a decision once he has made it. For further discussion of God’s “relenting” from sending good or disaster on a people, see note on Jonah 3:10.