1 Samuel 15
Legacy Standard Bible
Saul’s Disobedience
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “(A)Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; so now, [a]obey the voice of the words of Yahweh. 2 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will [b]punish Amalek (B)for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and (C)devote to destruction all that he has, and do not spare him; but (D)put to death both man and woman, infant and nursing baby, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
4 Then Saul summoned the people and [c]numbered them in (E)Telaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. 6 And Saul said to (F)the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; (G)you showed lovingkindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 So (H)Saul struck the Amalekites, from (I)Havilah as you go to (J)Shur, which is [d]east of Egypt. 8 And he seized (K)Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and (L)devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people (M)spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and they were not willing to devote them to destruction; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
Yahweh Regrets He Made Saul King
10 Then the word of Yahweh came to Samuel, saying, 11 “(N)I regret that I have made Saul king, for (O)he has turned back from [e]following Me and has not established My words.” And Samuel became angry and (P)cried out to Yahweh all night. 12 Then Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told to Samuel, saying, “Saul came to (Q)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on [f]down to (R)Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “(S)Blessed are you of Yahweh! I have established the word of Yahweh.” 14 But Samuel said, “(T)What then is this sound of the sheep in my ears and the sound of the oxen which I am hearing?” 15 And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for (U)the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God; but the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what Yahweh spoke to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”
17 And Samuel said, “Is it not true, (V)though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And Yahweh anointed you king over Israel, 18 and Yahweh sent you on a [g]mission and said, ‘(W)Go and devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not [h]obey the voice of Yahweh, (X)but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh?”
20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “(Y)I did [i]obey the voice of Yahweh and went on the way on which Yahweh sent me and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek and have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But (Z)the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God at Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,
“(AA)Has Yahweh as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of Yahweh?
Behold, (AB)to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of (AC)divination,
And insubordination is as (AD)wickedness and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh,
(AE)He has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “(AF)I have sinned; (AG)I have indeed trespassed against the [j]command of Yahweh and your words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 So now, (AH)please forgive my sin and return with me, that I may worship Yahweh.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for (AI)you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 Then Samuel turned to go, but (AJ)Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, “(AK)Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. 29 Also the (AL)Eternal One of Israel (AM)will not lie or have regret; for He is not a man that He should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; (AN)but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, (AO)that I may worship Yahweh your God.” 31 So Samuel returned, following after Saul, and Saul worshiped Yahweh.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag near to me, the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him [k]in chains. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death has departed.” 33 But Samuel said, “(AP)As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before Yahweh at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to (AQ)Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at (AR)Gibeah of Saul. 35 (AS)So Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel (AT)grieved over Saul. And Yahweh regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:1 Or listen to, cf. 15:14, 19, 20, 24
- 1 Samuel 15:2 Or visit
- 1 Samuel 15:4 Lit mustered
- 1 Samuel 15:7 Lit before
- 1 Samuel 15:11 Lit after
- 1 Samuel 15:12 Lit and went down
- 1 Samuel 15:18 Lit way
- 1 Samuel 15:19 Or listen to, cf. 15:14
- 1 Samuel 15:20 Or listen to, cf. 15:14
- 1 Samuel 15:24 Lit mouth
- 1 Samuel 15:32 Or cheerfully
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
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