1 Samuel 15:1-35
The LORD Rejects Saul as King
1 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”
13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”
14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”
15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
16 “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” Saul replied.
17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”
20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”
26 But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!”
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”
30 Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”
Agag came to him in chains. And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
33 But Samuel said,
“As your sword has made women childless,
so will your mother be childless among women.”
And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
One day Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel...Now listen to his message...The LORD All-Powerful says: ‘When the Israelites came out of Egypt, the Amalekites tried to stop them from going to Canaan...I saw what the Amalekites did...Now go fight against the Amalekites...You must completely destroy the Amalekites and everything that belongs to them...Don’t let anything live; you must kill all the men and women and all of their children and little babies...You must kill all of their cattle and sheep and all of their camels and donkeys.’”...Saul gathered the army together at Telaim...There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 other men, including the men from Judah...Then Saul went to the city of Amalek and waited in the valley...He said to the Kenites, “Go away!...Leave the Amalekites...Then I won’t destroy you with the Amalekites...You showed kindness to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.”...So the Kenites left the Amalekites...Saul defeated the Amalekites...He fought them and chased them all the way from Havilah to Shur, at the border of Egypt...Agag was the king of the Amalekites...Saul captured Agag alive...Saul let Agag live, but he killed all the men in Agag’s army...Saul and the Israelite soldiers felt bad about destroying everything...So they let Agag live...They also kept the fat cattle, the best sheep, and the lambs...They kept everything that was worth keeping...They didn’t want to destroy those things...They destroyed only what was not worth keeping...
Then Samuel received this message from the LORD: “Saul has stopped following Me, so I AM sorry that I made him king...He is not doing what I tell him.”...Samuel became angry and cried to the LORD all night...Samuel got up early the next morning and went to meet Saul...But the people told Samuel, “Saul went to Carmel...He went there to set up a stone monument to honor himself...Then he left there and went down to Gilgal.”...So Samuel went to Saul...Saul had just offered the first part of the things he took from the Amalekites as a burnt offering to the LORD...When Samuel came near to Saul, Saul greeted him and said, “The LORD bless you!...I have obeyed the LORD’s commands.”...But Samuel said, “Then what is that sound I hear?...Why do I hear sheep and cattle?”...Saul said, “The soldiers took them from the Amalekites...They saved the best sheep and cattle to burn as sacrifices to the LORD your God...But we destroyed everything else.”...Samuel said to Saul, “Stop!...Let me tell you what the LORD told me last night.”...Saul answered, “Tell me what he said.”...Samuel said, “In the past you didn’t think that you were important, but the LORD chose you to be the king...So you became the leader of the tribes of Israel...The LORD sent you on a special mission...He said, ‘Go and destroy all the Amalekites...They are evil people...Destroy them all!...Fight them until they are completely finished.’...So why didn’t you listen to the LORD?...You did what the LORD said is wrong because you wanted to keep what you took in battle.”...Saul said, “But I did obey the LORD!...I went where the LORD sent me...I destroyed all the Amalekites...I brought back only one—their king Agag...And the soldiers took the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”...But Samuel answered, “Which pleases the LORD more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obeying his commands?...It is better to obey the LORD than to offer sacrifices to Him...It is better to listen to Him than to offer the fat from rams...Refusing to obey is as bad as the sin of sorcery...Being stubborn and doing what you want is like the sin of worshiping idols...You refused to obey the LORD’s command, so He now refuses to accept you as king.”...
Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned...I did not obey the LORD’s commands, and I did not do what you told me...I was afraid of the people, and I did what they said...Now I beg you, forgive me for doing this sin...Come back with me, so I may worship the LORD.”...But Samuel said to Saul, “I won’t go back with you...You rejected the LORD’s command, and now the LORD rejects you as king of Israel.”...When Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught Samuel’s robe...The robe tore...Samuel said to Saul, “In this same way the LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today...He has given the kingdom to one of your friends, a man who is a better person than you...The one who lives forever, the God of Israel, does not lie and will not change His mind...He is not like a man who is always changing His mind.”...Saul answered, “All right, I sinned!...But please come back with me...Show me some respect in front of the leaders and the Israelites...Come back with me so that I may worship the LORD your God.”...Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD...Samuel said, “Bring King Agag of the Amalekites to me.”...Agag came to Samuel...Agag was tied with chains and thought, “Surely he won’t kill me.”...But Samuel said to Agag, “Your sword took babies from their mothers...So now, your mother will have no children.”...And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal...Then Samuel left and went to Ramah...And Saul went up to his home in Gibeah...After that Samuel never saw Saul again...Samuel was very sad for Saul...And the LORD was very sorry that He had made Saul king of Israel...