¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, ¹¹ “I regret that I made Saul king,^(A) for he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions.”^(B) So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.^(C)

¹² Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but it was reported to Samuel, “Saul went to Carmel^(D) where he set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and went down to Gilgal.”^{(E) 13} When Samuel came to him, Saul said, “May the Lord bless you.^(F) I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

¹⁴ Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep, goats, and cattle I hear?”

¹⁵ Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep, goats, and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God,^(G) but the rest we destroyed.”^(H)

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,^(I) haven’t you 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^(J) and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”

²⁰ “But I did obey the Lord!” Saul answered.^[a] “I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back King Agag of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”^(K)

²² Then Samuel said:

Samuel Anoints David

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul,^(A) since I have rejected him as king over Israel?^(B) Fill your horn with oil^(C) and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem^(D) because I have selected for myself a king from his sons.”