1 Kings 15
15
1And Samuel said to Saul: The Lord sent me to anoint thee king over his people Israel; now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the Lord.
2Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I have reckoned up all that Amalec hath done to Israel. How he opposed them in the way when they came up out of Egypt.
3Now therefore go, and smite Amalec, and utterly destroy all that he hath. Spare him not, nor covet any thing that is his; but slay both man and woman, child and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
4So Saul commanded the people, and numbered them as lambs: two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand of the men of Juda.
5And when Saul was come to the city of Amalec, he laid ambushes in the torrent.
6And Saul said to the Cinite: Go, depart and get ye down from Amalec; lest I destroy thee with him. For thou hast shewn kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. And the Cinite departed from the midst of Amalec.
7And Saul smote Amalec from Hevila, until thou comest to Sur, which is over against Egypt.
8And he took Agag the king of Amalec alive: but all the common people he slew with the edge of the sword.
9And Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the flocks of sheep and of the herds, and the garments and the rams, and all that was beautiful, and would not destroy them: but every thing that was vile and good for nothing, that they destroyed.
10And the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying:
11It repenteth me that I have made Saul king: for he hath forsaken me, and hath not executed my commandments. And Samuel was grieved, and he cried unto the Lord all night.
12And when Samuel rose early, to go to Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, that Saul was come to Carmel, and had erected for himself a triumphant arch; and returning had passed on, and gone down to Galgal. And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul was offering a holocaust to the Lord out of the choicest of the spoils which he had brought from Amalec.
13And when Samuel was come to Saul, Saul said to him: Blessed be thou of the Lord. I have fulfilled the word of the Lord.
14And Samuel said: What meaneth then this bleating of the flocks, which soundeth in my ears, and the lowing of the herds, which I hear?
15And Saul said: They have brought them from Amalec. For the people spared the best of the sheep and of the herds that they might be sacrificed to the Lord thy God; but the rest we have slain.
16And Samuel said to Saul: Suffer me, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said to him: Speak.
17And Samuel said: When thou wast a little one in thy own eyes, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed thee to be king over Israel.
18And the Lord sent thee on the way, and said: Go, and kill the sinners of Amalec; and thou shalt fight against them until thou hast utterly destroyed them.
19Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of the Lord: but hast turned to the prey, and hast done evil in the eyes of the Lord.
20And Saul said to Samuel: Yea, I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and have walked in the way by which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalec, and Amalec I have slain.
21But the people took of the spoils sheep and oxen, as the firstfruits of those things that were slain, to offer sacrifice to the Lord their God in Galgal.
22And Samuel said: Doth the Lord desire holocausts and victims, and not rather that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices; and to hearken rather than to offer the fat of rams.
23Because it is like the sin of witchcraft, to rebel: and like the crime of idolatry, to refuse to obey. Forasmuch therefore as thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord hath also rejected thee from being king.
24And Saul said to Samuel: I have sinned because I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words, fearing the people, and obeying their voice.
25But now bear, I beseech thee, my sin: and return with me, that I may adore the Lord.
26And Samuel said to Saul: I will not return with thee, because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27And Samuel turned about to go away; but he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
28And Samuel said to hinm: The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to thy neighbour who is better than thee.
29But the triumpher in Israel will ot spare, and will not be moved to repentance: for he is not a man that he should repent.
30Then he said: I have sinned. Yet honour me now before the ancients of my people, and before Israel, and return with me, that I may adore the Lord thy God.
31So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul adored the Lord.
32And Samuel said: Bring hitherto me Agag the king of Amalec. And Agag was presented to him very fat, and trembling. And Agag said: Doth bitter death separate in this manner?
33And Samuel said: As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed him in pieces before the Lord in Galgal.
34And Samuel departed to Ramatha: but Saul went up to his house in Gabaa.
35And Samuel saw Saul no more till the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, because the Lord repented that he had made him king over Israel.
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1 Kings 15: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1 Samuel 15
15
Saul Defeats the Amalekites
1One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the Lord who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the Lord! 2This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. 3Now go and completely destroy#15:3 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also in 15:8, 9, 15, 18, 20, 21. the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”
4So Saul mobilized his army at Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 men from Judah. 5Then Saul and his army went to a town of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley. 6Saul sent this warning to the Kenites: “Move away from where the Amalekites live, or you will die with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites packed up and left.
7Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt. 8He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. 9Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.
The Lord Rejects Saul
10Then the Lord said to Samuel, 11“I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the Lord all night.
12Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”
13When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the Lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the Lord’s command!”
14“Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded.
15“It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”
16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!”
“What did he tell you?” Saul asked.
17And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. 18And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ 19Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
20“But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. 21Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22But Samuel replied,
“What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
23Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
Saul Pleads for Forgiveness
24Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. 25But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”
26But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the Lord’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”
27As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe. 28And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you. 29And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”
30Then Saul pleaded again, “I know I have sinned. But please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31So Samuel finally agreed and went back with him, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
Samuel Executes King Agag
32Then Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” Agag arrived full of hope, for he thought, “Surely the worst is over, and I have been spared!”#15:32 Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version read Agag arrived hesitantly, for he thought, “Surely this is the bitterness of death.” 33But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother will be childless.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 35Samuel never went to meet with Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him. And the Lord was sorry he had ever made Saul king of Israel.
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