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.
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1 Samuel 15: YLT98
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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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