1 Samuel 15:1-11

New American Standard Bible 1995

Saul’s Disobedience

15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “^(A)The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the ^[a]words of the Lord. ² Thus says the Lord 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)utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but ^(D)put to death both man and woman, child and infant, 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 Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley. ⁶ Saul said to ^(F)the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you with them; for ^(G)you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. ⁷ So ^(H)Saul ^[d]defeated the Amalekites, from ^(I)Havilah as you go to ^(J)Shur, which is ^[e]east of Egypt. ⁸ He captured ^(K)Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and ^(L)utterly destroyed 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 were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

Samuel Rebukes Saul

¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ “^(N)I regret that I have made Saul king, for ^(O)he has turned back from ^[f]following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and ^(P)cried out to the Lord all night.