¹³ “You have done a foolish thing,^(A)” Samuel said. “You have not kept^(B) the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.^(C)

¹⁴ But now your kingdom^(A) will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart^(B) and appointed^(C) him ruler^(D) of his people, because you have not kept^(E) the Lord’s command.”

²² But Samuel replied:

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned.^(D) I violated^(E) the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid^(F) of the men and so I gave in to them. ²⁵ Now I beg you, forgive^(G) 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^(H) the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!”