¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal^(A) and made Saul king^(B) in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.

⁴ So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become obnoxious^(A) to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines assembled^(B) to fight Israel, with three thousand^[a] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand^(C) on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash,^(D) east of Beth Aven.^{(E) 6} When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid^(F) in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns.^{(G) 7} Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad^(H) and Gilead.

Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking^(I) with fear. ⁸ He waited seven^(J) days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. ⁹ So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered^(K) up the burnt offering. ¹⁰ Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel^(L) arrived, and Saul went out to greet^(M) him.

¹¹ “What have you done?” asked Samuel.

Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash,^{(N) 12} I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal,^(O) and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.^(P)’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”

¹³ “You have done a foolish thing,^(Q)” Samuel said. “You have not kept^(R) the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.^{(S) 14} But now your kingdom^(T) will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart^(U) and appointed^(V) him ruler^(W) of his people, because you have not kept^(X) the Lord’s command.”

¹⁵ Then Samuel left Gilgal^[b] and went up to Gibeah^(Y) in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.^(Z)

⁶ Then he said to the Kenites,^(A) “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^(B) all the way from Havilah to Shur,^(C) near the eastern border of Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag^(D) king of the Amalekites alive,^(E) and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the army spared^(F) Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves^[a] 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^(G) that I have made Saul king, because he has turned^(H) away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”^(I) Samuel was angry,^(J) 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.^(K) There he has set up a monument^(L) 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^(M) 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^(N) and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

²⁰ “But I did obey^(O) 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: