1 Samuel 15
15
1And Samuel saith unto Saul, ‘Me did Jehovah send to anoint thee for king over His people, over Israel; and now, hearken to the voice of the words of Jehovah:
2‘Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, I have looked after that which Amalek did to Israel, that which he laid for him in the way in his going up out of Egypt.
3Now, go, and thou hast smitten Amalek, and devoted all that it hath, and thou hast no pity on it, and hast put to death from man unto woman, from infant unto suckling, from ox unto sheep, from camel unto ass.’
4And Saul summoneth the people, and inspecteth them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand [are] men of Judah.
5And Saul cometh in unto a city of Amalek, and layeth wait in a valley;
6and Saul saith unto the Kenite, ‘Go, turn aside, go down from the midst of Amalek, lest I consume thee with it, and thou didst kindness with all the sons of Israel, in their going up out of Egypt;’ and the Kenite turneth aside from the midst of Amalek.
7And Saul smiteth Amalek from Havilah — thy going in to Shur, which [is] on the front of Egypt,
8and he catcheth Agag king of Amalek alive, and all the people he hath devoted by the mouth of the sword;
9and Saul hath pity — also the people — on Agag, and on the best of the flock, and of the herd, and of the seconds, and on the lambs, and on all that [is] good, and have not been willing to devote them; and all the work, despised and wasted — it they devoted.
10And the word of Jehovah is unto Samuel, saying,
11‘I have repented that I caused Saul to reign for king, for he hath turned back from after Me, and My words he hath not performed;’ and it is displeasing to Samuel, and he crieth unto Jehovah all the night.
12And Samuel riseth early to meet Saul in the morning, and it is declared to Samuel, saying, ‘Saul hath come in to Carmel, and lo, he is setting up to himself a monument, and goeth round, and passeth over, and goeth down to Gilgal.’
13And Samuel cometh in unto Saul, and Saul saith to him, ‘Blessed [art] thou of Jehovah; I have performed the word of Jehovah.’
14And Samuel saith, ‘And what [is] the noise of this flock in mine ears — and the noise of the herd which I am hearing?’
15And Saul saith, ‘From Amalek they have brought them, because the people had pity on the best of the flock, and of the herd, in order to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God, and the remnant we have devoted.’
16And Samuel saith unto Saul, ‘Desist, and I declare to thee that which Jehovah hath spoken unto me to-night;’ and he saith to him, ‘Speak.’
17And Samuel saith, ‘Art not thou, if thou [art] little in thine own eyes, head of the tribes of Israel? and Jehovah doth anoint thee for king over Israel,
18and Jehovah sendeth thee in the way, and saith, Go, and thou hast devoted the sinners, the Amalekite, and fought against them till they are consumed;
19and why hast thou not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah — and dost fly unto the spoil, and dost do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah?’
20And Saul saith unto Samuel, ‘Because — I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and I go in the way which Jehovah hath sent me, and bring in Agag king of Amalek, and Amalek I have devoted;
21and the people taketh of the spoil of the flock and herd, the first part of the devoted thing, for sacrifice to Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.’
22And Samuel saith, ‘Hath Jehovah had delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as [in] hearkening to the voice of Jehovah? lo, hearkening than sacrifice is better; to give attention than fat of rams;
23for a sin of divination [is] rebellion, and iniquity and teraphim [is] stubbornness; because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He also doth reject thee from [being] king.’
24And Saul saith unto Samuel, ‘I have sinned, for I passed over the command of Jehovah, and thy words; because I have feared the people, I also hearken to their voice;
25and now, bear, I pray thee, with my sin, and turn back with me, and I bow myself to Jehovah.’
26And Samuel saith unto Saul, ‘I do not turn back with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah doth reject thee from being king over Israel.’
27And Samuel turneth round to go, and he layeth hold on the skirt of his upper robe — and it is rent!
28And Samuel saith unto him, ‘Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee today, and given it to thy neighbour who is better than thou;
29and also, the Pre-eminence of Israel doth not lie nor repent, for He [is] not a man to be penitent.’
30And he saith, ‘I have sinned; now, honour me, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn back with me; and I have bowed myself to Jehovah thy God.’
31And Samuel turneth back after Saul, and Saul boweth himself to Jehovah;
32and Samuel saith, ‘Bring ye nigh unto me Agag king of Amalek,’ and Agag cometh unto him daintily, and Agag saith, ‘Surely the bitterness of death hath turned aside.’
33And Samuel saith, ‘As thy sword bereaved women — so is thy mother bereaved above women;’ and Samuel heweth Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.
34And Samuel goeth to Ramath, and Saul hath gone unto his house — to Gibeah of Saul.
35And Samuel hath not added to see Saul till the day of his death, for Samuel mourned for Saul, and Jehovah repented that He had caused Saul to reign over Israel.
Currently Selected:
1 Samuel 15: YLT98
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
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 All-Powerful says: ‘When the Israelites came out of Egypt, the Amalekites tried to stop them from going to Canaan. So I will punish them. 3Now go, attack the Amalekites and destroy everything they own as an offering to the Lord. Don’t let anything live. Put to death men and women, children and small babies, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”
4So Saul called the army together at Telaim. There were two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand 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, because 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 King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he killed all of Agag’s army with the sword. 9Saul and the army let Agag live, along with the best sheep, fat cattle, and lambs. They let every good animal live, because 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“I am sorry I made Saul king, because he has stopped following me and 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, where he has put up a monument in his own honor. Now he has gone down to Gilgal.”
13When Samuel came to Saul, 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 sent you on a mission. 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 to his voice?
It is better to obey than to sacrifice.
It is better to listen to God than to offer the fat of sheep.
23Disobedience is as bad as the sin of sorcery.
Pride is as bad as the sin of worshiping idols.
You have rejected the Lord’s command.
Now he rejects you as king.”
24Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I didn’t obey the Lord’s commands and your words. 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 rejected 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 and has given it to one of your neighbors who is better than you. 29The Lord is the Eternal One of Israel. He does not lie or change his mind. He is not a human being, so he does not change his mind.
30Saul answered, “I have sinned. But please honor me in front of the elders of my people and in front of the Israelites. Come back with me so that I can worship the Lord your God.” 31So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32Then Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.”
Agag came to Samuel in chains, but Agag thought, “Surely the threat of death has passed.”
33Samuel said to him, “Your sword made other mothers lose 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 the rest of his life, but he was sad for Saul. And the Lord was very sorry he had made Saul king of Israel.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.