1 Samuel 15
Lexham English Bible
Israel Defeats the Amalekites
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over his people Israel. So then, listen to the words[a] of Yahweh! 2 Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘I have observed what Amalek did to Israel, how he opposed him[b] when he went up from Egypt. 3 So then, go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that is his! You must not spare him, but kill both man and woman, both child and nursing infant, both ox and sheep, both camel and donkey.’”
4 Saul summoned the army and mustered them at Telaim; two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 Then Saul came up to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the wadi.[c] 6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you with them. You have shown loyal love to all the Israelites[d] when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites left from among the Amalekites. 7 Then Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as one goes to Shur which is east of[e] Egypt. 8 He captured Agag the king of Amalek alive, but all the people he utterly destroyed with the edge[f] of the sword. 9 However, Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and the cattle and the second best of the young fatlings and all that was valuable;[g] they were not willing to utterly destroy them. But all the possessions that were despised or worthless, they utterly destroyed.
Samuel Announces the Downfall of Saul
10 Then the word of Yahweh came to Samuel, saying, 11 “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not kept my word.” Samuel became angry,[h] and he cried out to Yahweh all night. 12 Then Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul. Samuel was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and look, he is setting up a monument for himself.” Then he turned around and crossed over and went down to Gilgal.
13 When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “May you be blessed by Yahweh! I have kept the word of Yahweh.” 14 But Samuel said, “Then what is this bleating of the sheep that I hear in my ears and the lowing of the cattle that I am hearing?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; the troops spared the best of the sheep and the cattle in order to sacrifice them to Yahweh your God. But the rest we have utterly destroyed.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop and let me tell you what Yahweh said to me last night.” So he said to him, “Speak.”
17 Samuel said, “Even though you are small in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh has anointed you as king over Israel. 18 When Yahweh sent you on your way, he said to you: ‘Go! You must utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and you must fight against them until you[i] have destroyed them.’ 19 Why did you not listen to the voice of Yahweh and fall with shouting on the plunder? You have done evil in the sight of Yahweh!” 20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have listened to the voice of Yahweh, and I have gone on the way that Yahweh sent me! I brought Agag the king of Amalek, and the Amalekites I have utterly destroyed. 21 The troops took from the plunder, sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God at Gilgal.”
22 Then Samuel said,
“Is there as much delight for Yahweh in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as there is in obeying[j] Yahweh?
Look! To obey[k] is better than sacrifice;
to give heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination;
arrogance is like iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh,
he has rejected you from being king!”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned because I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh[l] and your words, for I feared the troops and I listened to their voice. 25 So then, please pardon my sin and return with me so that I can worship[m] Yahweh.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and he has rejected you from being king over Israel!”
27 As Samuel turned around to go, he[n] caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Then Samuel said to him, “Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.[o] 29 Moreover, the Glory of Israel will not break faith and will not regret, for he is not a human that he should regret.” 30 Then he[p] said, “I have sinned! Now please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me so that I can worship[q] Yahweh your God.” 31 So Samuel returned after Saul, and Saul worshiped[r] Yahweh.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag the king of Amalek out to me!” Agag came to him confidently,[s] for Agag thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is over.”[t]
33 Samuel said,
“Just as your sword bereaved women,
so will your mother be bereaved among women!”
Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces in the presence of Yahweh at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Samuel did not see Saul again[u] until the day of his death, but Samuel mourned over Saul, and Yahweh regretted that he made Saul king over Israel.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:1 Literally “listen to the voice of the words”
- 1 Samuel 15:2 Literally “what he placed against him in the way”
- 1 Samuel 15:5 A valley that is usually dry but contains a stream during the rainy season
- 1 Samuel 15:6 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- 1 Samuel 15:7 Literally “upon the face of”
- 1 Samuel 15:8 Literally “mouth”
- 1 Samuel 15:9 Literally “all the good things”
- 1 Samuel 15:11 Literally “it became hot for Samuel”
- 1 Samuel 15:18 The Masoretic Hebrew text reads “they”; LXX, Peshitta, and Targum read “you”
- 1 Samuel 15:22 Literally “listening to the voice of”
- 1 Samuel 15:22 Literally “Listening”
- 1 Samuel 15:24 Literally “the mouth of Yahweh”
- 1 Samuel 15:25 Literally “so that I can bow down to”
- 1 Samuel 15:27 That is, Saul
- 1 Samuel 15:28 Literally “the better than you”
- 1 Samuel 15:30 That is, Saul
- 1 Samuel 15:30 Literally “so that I can bow down to”
- 1 Samuel 15:31 Literally “bowed down to”
- 1 Samuel 15:32 Or “trembling”; literally “in chains/bonds” (HALOT 609 s.v. 2); the meaning here is uncertain (LXX has “trembling”)
- 1 Samuel 15:32 Literally “has turned aside”; other English versions follow the LXX and Peshitta and omit “has turned aside,” reading “Surely the bitterness of death!”
- 1 Samuel 15:35 Literally “did not add to see Saul”
1 Samuel 15
Common English Bible
Samuel rejects Saul’s kingship
15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel. Listen now to the Lord’s words! 2 This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says: I am going to punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel: how they attacked the Israelites as they came up from Egypt. 3 So go! Attack the Amalekites; put everything that belongs to them under the ban.[a] Spare no one. Kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.”
4 Saul called out the troops and counted them at Telaim: two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand more troops from Judah. 5 Then Saul advanced on the Amalekite city and laid an ambush in the valley. 6 Saul told the Kenites, “Get going! Leave the Amalekites immediately because you showed kindness to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt. Otherwise, I’ll destroy you right along with them.” So the Kenites left the Amalekites. 7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is near Egypt. 8 He captured Agag the Amalekite king alive, but Saul placed all the people under the ban, killing them with the sword. 9 Saul and the troops spared Agag along with the best sheep, cattle, fattened calves,[b] lambs, and everything of value. They weren’t willing to put them under the ban; but anything that was despised or of no value[c] they placed under the ban.
10 Then the Lord’s word came to Samuel: 11 “I regret making Saul king because he has turned away from following me and hasn’t done what I said.” Samuel was upset at this, and he prayed to the Lord all night long.
12 Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul, and was told, “Saul went to Carmel, where he is setting up a monument for himself. Then he left and went down to Gilgal.”
13 When Samuel reached Saul,[d] Saul greeted him, “The Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said.”
14 “Then what,” Samuel asked, “is this bleating of sheep in my ears and mooing of cattle I hear?”
15 “They were taken from the Amalekites,” Saul said, “because the troops spared the best sheep and cattle in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. The rest was placed under the ban.”
16 Samuel then said to Saul, “Enough! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” Saul replied.
17 Samuel said, “Even if you think you are insignificant, aren’t you the leader of Israel’s tribes? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 The Lord sent you on a mission, instructing you, ‘Go, and put the sinful Amalekites under the ban. Fight against them until you’ve wiped them out.’ 19 Why didn’t you obey the Lord? You did evil in the Lord’s eyes when you tore into the plunder!”
20 “But I did obey the Lord!” Saul protested to Samuel. “I went on the mission the Lord sent me on. I captured Agag the Amalekite king, and I put the Amalekites under the ban. 21 Yes, the troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder—the very best items placed under the ban—but in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 Then Samuel replied,
“Does the Lord want entirely burned offerings and sacrifices
as much as obedience to the Lord?
Listen to this: obeying is better than sacrificing,
paying attention is better than fat from rams,
23 because rebellion is as bad as the sin of divination;
arrogance is like the evil of idolatry.[e]
Because you have rejected what the Lord said,
he has rejected you as king.”
24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned because I disobeyed the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the troops and obeyed them. 25 But now please forgive my sin! Come back with me, so I can worship the Lord.”
26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I can’t[f] return with you because you have rejected what the Lord said, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”
27 Samuel turned to leave, but Saul grabbed at the edge of his robe, and it ripped. 28 Then Samuel told him, “The Lord has ripped the kingdom of Israel from you today. He will give it to a friend of yours, someone who is more worthy than you. 29 What’s more, the enduring one of Israel doesn’t take back what he says and doesn’t change his mind. He is not a human being who would change his mind.”
30 “I have sinned,” Saul said, “but please honor me in front of my people’s elders and before Israel, and come back with me so I can worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.
32 “Bring me Agag the Amalekite king,” Samuel said.
Agag came to him in chains, asking, “Would death have been as bitter as this is?”[g]
33 Samuel said, “Just as your sword left women without their children, now your mother will be childless among women.” Then Samuel cut Agag to pieces in the Lord’s presence at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah. 35 Samuel never saw Saul again before he died, but he grieved over Saul. However, the Lord regretted making Saul king over Israel.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:3 A technique of holy war that often involves total destruction, in which everything that is destroyed is dedicated to the deity who helps in the battle; also in 15:8-9, 15, 18, 20-21.
- 1 Samuel 15:9 LXX
- 1 Samuel 15:9 LXX; Heb uncertain
- 1 Samuel 15:13 LXX adds he was offering entirely burned sacrifices to the Lord, the best of the plunder that he had taken from Amalek. As Samuel approached Saul.
- 1 Samuel 15:23 Sym, LXXB; MT evil and idolatry
- 1 Samuel 15:26 Or won’t
- 1 Samuel 15:32 LXX; Heb uncertain
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible