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
Samuel rejects Saul’s kingship
1Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel. Listen now to the LORD’s words! 2This is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: I am going to punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel: how they attacked the Israelites as they came up from Egypt. 3So go! Attack the Amalekites; put everything that belongs to them under the ban.#15.3 A technique of holy war that often involves total destruction, in which everything that is destroyed is dedicated to the deity who helps in the battle; also in 15:8-9, 15, 18, 20-21. Spare no one. Kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.”
4Saul called out the troops and counted them at Telaim: two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand more troops from Judah. 5Then Saul advanced on the Amalekite city and laid an ambush in the valley. 6Saul told the Kenites, “Get going! Leave the Amalekites immediately because you showed kindness to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt. Otherwise, I’ll destroy you right along with them.” So the Kenites left the Amalekites. 7Then Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is near Egypt. 8He captured Agag the Amalekite king alive, but Saul placed all the people under the ban, killing them with the sword. 9Saul and the troops spared Agag along with the best sheep, cattle, fattened calves,#15.9 LXX lambs, and everything of value. They weren’t willing to put them under the ban; but anything that was despised or of no value#15.9 LXX; Heb uncertain they placed under the ban.
10Then the LORD’s word came to Samuel: 11“I regret making Saul king because he has turned away from following me and hasn’t done what I said.” Samuel was upset at this, and he prayed to the LORD all night long.
12Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul, and was told, “Saul went to Carmel, where he is setting up a monument for himself. Then he left and went down to Gilgal.”
13When Samuel reached Saul,#15.13 LXX adds he was offering entirely burned sacrifices to the LORD, the best of the plunder that he had taken from Amalek. As Samuel approached Saul. Saul greeted him, “The LORD bless you! I have done what the LORD said.”
14“Then what,” Samuel asked, “is this bleating of sheep in my ears and mooing of cattle I hear?”
15“They were taken from the Amalekites,” Saul said, “because the troops spared the best sheep and cattle in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God. The rest was placed under the ban.”
16Samuel then said to Saul, “Enough! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” Saul replied.
17Samuel said, “Even if you think you are insignificant, aren’t you the leader of Israel’s tribes? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18The LORD sent you on a mission, instructing you, ‘Go, and put the sinful Amalekites under the ban. Fight against them until you’ve wiped them out.’ 19Why didn’t you obey the LORD? You did evil in the LORD’s eyes when you tore into the plunder!”
20“But I did obey the LORD!” Saul protested to Samuel. “I went on the mission the LORD sent me on. I captured Agag the Amalekite king, and I put the Amalekites under the ban. 21Yes, the troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder—the very best items placed under the ban—but in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
22Then Samuel replied,
“Does the LORD want entirely burned offerings and sacrifices
as much as obedience to the LORD?
Listen to this: obeying is better than sacrificing,
paying attention is better than fat from rams,
23because rebellion is as bad as the sin of divination;
arrogance is like the evil of idolatry.#15.23 Sym, LXXB; MT evil and idolatry
Because you have rejected what the LORD said,
he has rejected you as king.”
24Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned because I disobeyed the LORD’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the troops and obeyed them. 25But now please forgive my sin! Come back with me, so I can worship the LORD.”
26But Samuel said to Saul, “I can’t#15.26 Or won’t return with you because you have rejected what the LORD said, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
27Samuel turned to leave, but Saul grabbed at the edge of his robe, and it ripped. 28Then Samuel told him, “The LORD has ripped the kingdom of Israel from you today. He will give it to a friend of yours, someone who is more worthy than you. 29What’s more, the enduring one of Israel doesn’t take back what he says and doesn’t change his mind. He is not a human being who would change his mind.”
30“I have sinned,” Saul said, “but please honor me in front of my people’s elders and before Israel, and come back with me so I can worship the LORD your God.” 31So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshipped the LORD.
32“Bring me Agag the Amalekite king,” Samuel said.
Agag came to him in chains, asking, “Would death have been as bitter as this is?”#15.32 LXX; Heb uncertain
33Samuel said, “Just as your sword left women without their children, now your mother will be childless among women.” Then Samuel cut Agag to pieces in the LORD’s presence at Gilgal.
34Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah. 35Samuel never saw Saul again before he died, but he grieved over Saul. However, the LORD regretted making Saul king over Israel.
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