CHAPTER 15
Then Samuel
said
to
Saul,
“The LORD
sent
me
to anoint you
king
over
His people
Israel.
Now therefore,
listen
to the words
of the LORD.
This is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
‘I witnessed
what
the Amalekites
did
to the Israelites
when
they hindered them
on their way
up
from Egypt.
Now
go
and attack
the Amalekites
and completely destroy
all
that
belongs to them.
Do not
spare
them,
but put to death
men
and
women,
children
and
infants,
oxen
and
sheep,
camels
and
donkeys.'"
So Saul
summoned
the troops
and numbered them
at Telaim—
200,000
foot soldiers
and 10,000
men
of Judah.
And he
warned
the Kenites,
“Since you
showed
kindness
to
all
the Israelites
when they came up
out of Egypt,
go on
and get away
from
the Amalekites.
Otherwise
I will sweep you away
with them.”
So the Kenites
moved away
from
the Amalekites.
Saul
and his troops
spared
Agag,
along with
the best
of the sheep
and cattle,
the fat calves
and
lambs,
and
the best
of everything else.
They were unwilling
to destroy them,
but they utterly destroyed
all
that was despised
and worthless.
“I regret
that
I have made Saul
king,
for
he has turned away
from following Me
and
has not
carried out
My instructions.”
And Samuel
was distressed
and cried out
to
the LORD
all
that night.
Early in the morning
Samuel
got up
to confront
Saul,
but he was told,
“Saul
has gone
to Carmel,
and behold,
he has set up
a monument
for himself
and has turned
and gone down
to Gilgal.”
When Samuel
reached
him,
Saul
said
to him,
“May the LORD
bless
you.
I have carried out
the LORD’s
instructions.”
Saul
answered,
“The troops
brought them
from the Amalekites;
they spared
the best
sheep
and cattle
to
sacrifice
to the LORD
your God,
but
the rest
we utterly destroyed.”
“Stop!”
exclaimed
Samuel.
“Let me tell
you what
the LORD
said
to me
last night.”
“Tell me,”
Saul replied.
And Samuel
said,
“Although
you were once
small
in your own eyes,
have you
not
become the head
of the tribes
of Israel?
The LORD
anointed
you king
over
Israel
and sent
you on a mission,
saying,
‘Go
and completely destroy
the sinful
Amalekites.
Fight
against them
until
you have wiped them out.’
So why
did you not
obey
the LORD?
Why did you rush
upon
the plunder
and do
evil
in the sight
of the LORD?”
“But I did obey
the LORD,”
Saul
replied.
“I went
on the mission
that
the LORD
gave me.
I brought back
Agag
king
of Amalek
and utterly destroyed
the Amalekites.
The troops
took
sheep
and cattle
from the plunder,
the best of which
was devoted to destruction
to sacrifice
to the LORD
your God
at Gilgal.”
But Samuel
declared:
“Does the LORD
delight
in burnt offerings
and sacrifices
as much as in obeying
the voice
of the LORD?
Behold,
obedience
is better
than sacrifice,
and attentiveness
is better than the fat
of rams.
For
rebellion
is like the sin
of divination,
and arrogance
is like the wickedness
of idolatry.
Because
you have rejected
the word
of the LORD,
He has rejected you
as king.”
Then Saul
said
to Samuel,
“I have sinned;
I have transgressed
the LORD’s
commandment
and your instructions,
because
I feared
the people
and obeyed
their voice.
“I will not
return
with you,”
Samuel
replied.
“For
you have rejected
the word
of the LORD,
and He
has rejected you
as
king
over
Israel.”
So Samuel
said
to him,
“The LORD
has torn
the kingdom
of Israel
from
you today
and has given
it to your neighbor
who is better than you.
Moreover,
the Glory
of Israel
does not
lie
or change His mind,
for
He
is not
a man,
that He should change His mind.”
“I have sinned,”
Saul replied.
“Please
honor
me now
before
the elders
of my people
and before
Israel.
Come back
with me,
so that I may worship
the LORD
your God.”
Then Samuel
said,
“Bring
me
Agag
king
of the Amalekites.”
Agag
came
to him
cheerfully,
for he
thought,
“Surely
the bitterness
of death
is past.”
But Samuel
declared:
“As
your sword
has made women
childless,
so
your mother
will be childless
among women.”
And Samuel
hacked Agag
to pieces
before
the LORD
at Gilgal.
And to
the day
of his death,
Samuel
never
again
visited
Saul.
Samuel
mourned
for
Saul,
and the LORD
regretted
He had made Saul
king
over
Israel.