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.
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 15: DRC1752
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers