1 Samuel 15
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Saul Rejected as King
15 Samuel told Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people Israel.(A) Now, listen to the words of the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed[a] what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them along the way as they were coming out of Egypt.(B) 3 Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have.(C) Do not spare them. Kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”(D)
4 Then Saul summoned the troops and counted them at Telaim: 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men from Judah. 5 Saul came to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the wadi. 6 He warned the Kenites,(E) “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came out of Egypt,(F) go on and leave! Get away from the Amalekites, or I’ll sweep you away with them.” So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul struck down the Amalekites(G) from Havilah(H) all the way to Shur,(I) which is next to Egypt. 8 He captured Agag(J) king of Amalek alive, but he completely destroyed all the rest of the people with the sword.(K) 9 Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, cattle, and choice animals,[b] as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, 11 “I regret that I made Saul king,(L) for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.”(M) So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.(N)
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but it was reported to Samuel, “Saul went to Carmel(O) where he set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and went down to Gilgal.”(P) 13 When Samuel came to him, Saul said, “May the Lord bless you.(Q) I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”
14 Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep[c] and cattle I hear?”
15 Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God,(R) but the rest we destroyed.”(S)
16 “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” he replied.
17 Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant,(T) have you not become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel 18 and then sent you on a mission and said: ‘Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have annihilated them.’ 19 So why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you rush on the plunder(U) and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
20 “But I did obey the Lord!” Saul answered.[d] “I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back Agag, king of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. 21 The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”(V)
22 Then Samuel said:
Does the Lord(W) take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
Look: to obey is better than sacrifice,
to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.(X)
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,(Y)
and defiance is like wickedness(Z) and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has rejected you as king.(AA)
24 Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned.(AB) I have transgressed the Lord’s command(AC) and your words. Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them. 25 Now therefore, please forgive my sin(AD) and return with me so I can worship the Lord.”
26 Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of the Lord,(AE) the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 When Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today(AF) and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.(AG) 29 Furthermore, the Eternal One of Israel(AH) does not lie or change His mind, for He is not man who changes his mind.”(AI)
30 Saul said, “I have sinned. Please honor me(AJ) now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me so I can bow in worship to the Lord your God.”(AK) 31 Then Samuel went back, following Saul, and Saul bowed down to the Lord.
32 Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of Amalek.”
Agag came to him trembling,[e] for he thought, “Certainly the bitterness of death has come.”[f][g]
33 Samuel declared:
As your sword has made women childless,
so your mother will be childless among women.(AL)
Then he hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Samuel went to Ramah,(AM) and Saul went up to his home in Gibeah(AN) of Saul. 35 Even to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul.(AO) Samuel mourned for Saul,(AP) and the Lord regretted He had made Saul king over Israel.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:2 LXX reads I will avenge
- 1 Samuel 15:9 Lit and the second
- 1 Samuel 15:14 Lit sheep in my ears
- 1 Samuel 15:20 Lit answered Samuel
- 1 Samuel 15:32 Hb obscure
- 1 Samuel 15:32 LXX reads Is death bitter in this way?
- 1 Samuel 15:32 Lit turned
1 Samuel 15
New Living Translation
Saul Defeats the Amalekites
15 One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the Lord who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the Lord! 2 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. 3 Now go and completely destroy[a] the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”
4 So Saul mobilized his army at Telaim. There were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 men from Judah. 5 Then Saul and his army went to a town of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Saul sent this warning to the Kenites: “Move away from where the Amalekites live, or you will die with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites packed up and left.
7 Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt. 8 He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. 9 Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.
The Lord Rejects Saul
10 Then the Lord said to Samuel, 11 “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the Lord all night.
12 Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”
13 When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the Lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the Lord’s command!”
14 “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded.
15 “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!”
“What did he tell you?” Saul asked.
17 And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ 19 Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. 21 Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied,
“What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
Saul Pleads for Forgiveness
24 Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. 25 But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”
26 But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the Lord’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”
27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you. 29 And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”
30 Then Saul pleaded again, “I know I have sinned. But please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel finally agreed and went back with him, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
Samuel Executes King Agag
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” Agag arrived full of hope, for he thought, “Surely the worst is over, and I have been spared!”[b] 33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother will be childless.” And Samuel cut Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 35 Samuel never went to meet with Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him. And the Lord was sorry he had ever made Saul king of Israel.
Footnotes
- 15:3 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also in 15:8, 9, 15, 18, 20, 21.
- 15:32 Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version read Agag arrived hesitantly, for he thought, “Surely this is the bitterness of death.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
