1 Samuel 15
15
Saul Rejected as King
1Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to appoint you king over Israel. Now listen to his message. 2This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: ‘The Israelites came out of Egypt. But the Amalekites tried to stop them from going to Canaan. I saw what they did. 3Now go, attack the Amalekites. Destroy everything that belongs to them as an offering to the Lord. Don’t let anything live. Put to death men and women, children and small babies. Kill the cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
4So Saul called the army together at Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers and 10,000 men from Judah. 5Then Saul went to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the ravine. 6He said to the Kenites, “Go away. Leave the Amalekites so that I won’t destroy you with them. You showed kindness to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7Then Saul defeated the Amalekites. He fought them all the way from Havilah to Shur, at the border of Egypt. 8He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive. But he killed all of Agag’s army with the sword. 9But Saul and the army let Agag live. They also let the best sheep, fat cattle and lambs live. They let every good animal live. They did not want to destroy them. But when they found an animal that was weak or useless, they killed it.
10Then the Lord spoke his word to Samuel: 11“Saul has stopped following me. And I am sorry I made him king. He has not obeyed my commands.” Samuel was upset, and he cried out to the Lord all night long.
12Early the next morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul. But the people told Samuel, “Saul has gone to Carmel. He has put up a monument in his own honor. Now he has gone down to Gilgal.”
13Then Samuel came to Saul. And Saul said, “May the Lord bless you! I have obeyed the Lord’s commands.”
14But Samuel said, “Then why do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?”
15Saul answered, “The soldiers took them from the Amalekites. They saved the best sheep and cattle to offer as sacrifices to the Lord your God. But we destroyed all the other animals.”
16Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
Saul answered, “Tell me.”
17Samuel said, “Once you didn’t think much of yourself. But now you have become the leader of the tribes of Israel. The Lord appointed you to be king over Israel. 18And he told you to do something. He said, ‘Go and destroy those evil people, the Amalekites. Make war on them until all of them are dead.’ 19Why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you take the best things? Why did you do what the Lord said was wrong?”
20Saul said, “But I did obey the Lord. I did what the Lord told me to do. I destroyed all the Amalekites. And I brought back Agag their king. 21The soldiers took the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22But Samuel answered,
“What pleases the Lord more:
burnt offerings and sacrifices or obedience?
It is better to obey God than to offer a sacrifice.
It is better to listen to God than to offer the fat of male sheep.
23Refusing to obey is as bad as the sin of sorcery.
Being stubborn is as bad as the sin of worshiping idols.
You have rejected the Lord’s command.
For this reason, he now rejects you as king.”
24Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I didn’t obey the Lord’s commands. I didn’t do what you told me. I was afraid of the people, and I did what they said. 25Now I beg you, forgive my sin. Come back with me so I may worship the Lord.”
26But Samuel said to Saul, “I won’t go back with you. You refused the Lord’s command. And now he rejects you as king of Israel.”
27As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught his robe, and it tore. 28Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. He has given it to one of your neighbors. He has given it to one better than you. 29The Lord is the Eternal One of Israel. He does not lie or change his mind. He is not a man. So he does not change his mind as men do.”
30Saul answered, “I have sinned. But please honor me in front of my people’s elders. Please honor me in front of the Israelites. Come back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”
Agag came to Samuel in chains. Yet Agag thought, “Surely the threat of death has passed.”
33Samuel said to him, “Your sword caused mothers to be without their children. Now your mother will have no children.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34Then Samuel left and went to Ramah. But Saul went up to his home in Gibeah. 35And Samuel never saw Saul again all the rest of his life. But he was sorry for Saul. And the Lord was very sorry he had made Saul king of Israel.
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1 Samuel 15: ICB
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1 Samuel 15
15
1And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore hearken to the words of the Lord. 2Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will punish what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way, when they came up out of Egypt. 3Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.’ ”
4So Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. 6And Saul 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 people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7And Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.
10The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11“I repent that I have made Saul king; for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry; and he cried to the Lord all night. 12And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.” 13And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord; I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” 15Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” 16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Say on.”
17And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18And the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22#Mk 12.33. And Samuel said,
“Has 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 divination,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
24And Saul 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. 25Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” 26And Samuel 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 to go away, Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28And Samuel 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. 29And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.” 30Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31So Samuel turned back after Saul; and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
34Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibe-ah of Saul. 35And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
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