¹² Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was reported to Samuel, saying, “Saul came to ^(A)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on ^[a]down to ^(B)Gilgal.” ¹³ So Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “^(C)Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” ¹⁴ But Samuel said, “^(D)What then is this ^[b]bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the ^[c]bellowing of the oxen which I hear?” ¹⁵ Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for ^(E)the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have completely destroyed.” ¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and let me inform you of what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”