1 Samuel 15
15
The Lord Rejects Saul
1#1Sa 9:16; 10:1Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you to be king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore listen to the voice of the words of the Lord. 2#Dt 25:17–19; Ex 17:8–16Thus says the Lord of Hosts, ‘I remember what Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3#Nu 24:20; Dt 20:16–18Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not have compassion on them but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
4#Jos 15:24So Saul summoned the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. 5Then Saul came to the city of Amalek and laid an ambush in the valley. 6#Jdg 1:16; Ex 18:19Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7#Ge 16:7; 25:18Then Saul struck the Amalekites from Havilah until you come to Shur, which is near Egypt. 8#1Sa 30:1; Nu 24:7He took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9#1Sa 15:15; 15:3But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, and lambs. And of all that was good, they were not willing to utterly destroy them. But everything that was despised and weak, that they completely destroyed.
10Then came the word of the Lord to Samuel, saying, 11#Ge 6:6; 1Sa 13:13“I regret that I have set up Saul to be king because he has turned back from following Me, and he has not carried out My words.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried to the Lord all night.
12#Jos 15:55; 1Sa 25:2When Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to Carmel and set himself up a monument. Then he turned and has passed on down to Gilgal.”
13#Ge 14:19; Jdg 17:2Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord. I have carried out the word of the Lord.”
14Samuel said, “Then what is the sound of this flock of sheep in my ears? And the sound of the cattle which I am hearing?”
15#1Sa 15:9; 15:21And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed.”
16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and I will tell you what the Lord spoke to me this night.”
And he said to him, “Speak.”
17#1Sa 9:21; 10:22Samuel said, “When you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel? 18And the Lord sent you on a journey, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are destroyed.’ 19#1Sa 14:32Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? And why did you rush upon the spoil and do evil in the sight of the Lord?”
20#1Sa 15:13And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. And I have followed in the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21#1Sa 15:15; Ex 32:22–23But the people took from the plunder sheep and oxen, the first fruits of the banned things to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22#Hos 6:6; Jer 7:22–23; Mic 6:6–8Samuel said,
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Obedience is better than sacrifice,
a listening ear than the fat of rams.
23#1Sa 13:14 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has also rejected you from being king.”
24#2Sa 12:13; Pr 29:25Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. For I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25#Ex 10:17Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”
26#1Sa 13:14; 16:1Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
27As Samuel turned about to go, he seized the edge of his robe and it tore. 28#1Sa 28:17–18Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. 29#Nu 23:19; Eze 24:14; Titus 1:2Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent. For He is not a man, that He should repent.”
30#Jn 5:44; 12:43Then he said, “I have sinned, yet please honor me before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.
32Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag the king of the Amalekites.”
And Agag came to him reluctantly. But Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
33#Jdg 1:7; Ge 9:6Samuel said,
“As your sword has made women childless,
so will your mother be childless among women.”
And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
34#1Sa 11:4Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35#1Sa 15:11; 16:1Now Samuel did not see Saul up to the day of his death. But Samuel mourned for Saul and the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
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1 Samuel 15: MEV
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Military Bible Association
1 Samuel 15
15
Saul Rejected as King
1Samuel told Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people Israel.#1Sm 9:16 Now, listen to the words of the Lord. 2This is what the Lord of Armies says: ‘I witnessed#15:2 LXX reads I will avenge what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them along the way as they were coming out of Egypt.#Ex 17:8–16; Nm 24:20; Dt 25:17–19 3Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have.#Nm 24:20; Dt 20:16–18 Do not spare them. Kill men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”#Jos 6:17–21; 1Sm 22:19
4Then Saul summoned the troops and counted them at Telaim: two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah. 5Saul came to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the wadi. 6He warned the Kenites,#Jdg 1:16; 4:11 “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came out of Egypt,#Ex 18:9–10; Nm 10:29–32 go on and leave! Get away from the Amalekites, or I’ll sweep you away with them.” So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites.
7Then Saul struck down the Amalekites#1Sm 14:48 from Havilah#Gn 16:7; 25:17–18 all the way to Shur,#Ex 15:22; 1Sm 27:8 which is next to Egypt. 8He captured King Agag#Nm 24:7; Est 3:1 of Amalek alive, but he completely destroyed all the rest of the people with the sword.#1Sm 27:8; 30:1; 2Sm 8:12 9Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and choice animals,#15:9 Lit and the second ones as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.
10Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, 11“I regret that I made Saul king,#Gn 6:6–7; Ex 32:14; 2Sm 24:16 for he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions.”#1Kg 9:6–7 So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.#Ex 32:11–13; Lk 6:12
12Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but it was reported to Samuel, “Saul went to Carmel#Jos 15:55; 1Sm 25:2 where he set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and went down to Gilgal.”#1Sm 13:13–14 13When Samuel came to him, Saul said, “May the Lord bless you.#Gn 14:19; 2Sm 2:5 I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”
14Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep, goats, and cattle I hear?”
15Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep, goats, and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God,#Gn 3:12–13 but the rest we destroyed.”#Ex 32:21–24
16“Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” he replied.
17Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant,#1Sm 9:21 haven’t you become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel 18and then sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have annihilated them.’ 19So why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you rush on the plunder#1Sm 14:32 and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
20“But I did obey the Lord!” Saul answered.#15:20 Lit answered Samuel “I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back King Agag of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. 21The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder — the best of what was set apart for destruction — to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”#Ex 32:22–23
22Then Samuel said:
Does the Lord#Ps 40:6–8; 51:16–17; Is 1:11–15; Mc 6:6–8 take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
Look: to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.#Heb 10:5–7
23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,#Dt 18:10
and defiance is like wickedness#Gn 31:19,34 and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.#1Sm 8:7
24Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned.#Nm 22:34; 2Sm 12:13; Ps 51:3–4 I have transgressed the Lord’s command#Pr 29:25; Is 51:12–13 and your words. Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them. 25Now therefore, please forgive my sin#Ex 10:17 and return with me so I can worship the Lord.”
26Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of the Lord,#1Sm 13:14; 16:1 the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27When Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the corner of his robe, and it tore. 28Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today#1Sm 28:17–18 and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.#1Kg 11:30–36 29Furthermore, the Eternal One of Israel#1Ch 29:11; Ps 18:1–2 does not lie or change his mind, for he is not man who changes his mind.”#Nm 23:19; Ezk 24:14
30Saul said, “I have sinned. Please honor me#Jn 12:43 now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me so I can bow in worship to the Lord your God.”#Is 29:13 31Then Samuel went back, following Saul, and Saul bowed down to the Lord.
32Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of Amalek.”
Agag came to him trembling,#15:32 Hb obscure for he thought, “Certainly the bitterness of death has come.”#15:32 LXX reads “Is death bitter in this way?”#15:32 Lit turned
33Samuel declared:
As your sword has made women childless,
so your mother will be childless among women.#Gn 9:6; Jdg 1:7; Mt 7:2
Then he hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34Samuel went to Ramah,#1Sm 7:17 and Saul went up to his home in Gibeah#1Sm 11:4 of Saul. 35Even to the day of his death, Samuel never saw Saul again.#1Sm 19:24 Samuel mourned for Saul,#1Sm 16:1 and the Lord regretted he had made Saul king over Israel.
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