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1 Samuel 15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 15[a]

Disobedience of Saul. 1 Samuel said to Saul: “It was I the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel. Now, therefore, listen to the message of the Lord.(A) 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will punish what Amalek did to the Israelites when he barred their way as they came up from Egypt.(B) 3 Go, now, attack Amalek, and put under the ban[b] everything he has. Do not spare him; kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.”(C)

4 Saul alerted the army, and at Telaim reviewed two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah.[c] 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the wadi. 6 (D)He warned the Kenites: “Leave Amalek, turn aside and come down so I will not have to destroy you with them, for you were loyal to the Israelites when they came up from Egypt.”[d] After the Kenites left, 7 Saul routed Amalek from Havilah to the approaches of Shur, on the frontier of Egypt.(E) 8 He took Agag, king of Amalek, alive, but the rest of the people he destroyed by the sword, putting them under the ban. 9 He and his troops spared Agag and the best of the fat sheep and oxen, and the lambs. They refused to put under the ban anything that was worthwhile, destroying only what was worthless and of no account.

Samuel Rebukes Saul. 10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 I regret having made Saul king, for he has turned from me and has not kept my command. At this Samuel grew angry and cried out to the Lord all night.(F) 12 Early in the morning he went to meet Saul, but was informed that Saul had gone to Carmel, where he set up a monument in his own honor, and that on his return he had gone down to Gilgal. 13 When Samuel came to him, Saul greeted him: “The Lord bless you! I have kept the command of the Lord.” 14 But Samuel asked, “What, then, is this bleating of sheep that comes to my ears, the lowing of oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul replied: “They were brought from Amalek. The people spared the best sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord, your God; but the rest we destroyed, putting them under the ban.” 16 Samuel said to Saul: “Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” “Speak!” he replied. 17 Samuel then said: “Though little in your own eyes, are you not chief of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king of Israel(G) 18 and sent you on a mission, saying: Go and put the sinful Amalekites under a ban of destruction. Fight against them until you have exterminated them.(H) 19 Why then have you disobeyed the Lord? You have pounced on the spoil, thus doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight.”(I) 20 Saul explained to Samuel: “I did indeed obey the Lord and fulfill the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought back Agag, the king of Amalek, and, carrying out the ban, I have destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But from the spoil the army took sheep and oxen, the best of what had been banned, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”(J) 22 (K)But Samuel said:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obedience to the Lord’s command?
Obedience is better than sacrifice,
    to listen, better than the fat of rams.[e]
23 For a sin of divination is rebellion,
    and arrogance, the crime of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
    the Lord in turn has rejected you as king.”(L)

Rejection of Saul. 24 Saul admitted to Samuel: “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the command of the Lord and your instructions. I feared the people and obeyed them.(M) 25 Now forgive my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, because you rejected the word of the Lord and the Lord has rejected you as king of Israel.”(N) 27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized a loose end of his garment, and it tore off.(O) 28 So Samuel said to him: “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.(P) 29 The Glory of Israel neither deceives nor repents,[f] for he is not a mortal who repents.”(Q) 30 But Saul answered: “I have sinned, yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Return with me that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 And so Samuel returned with him, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

Samuel Executes Agag. 32 Afterward Samuel commanded, “Bring Agag, king of Amalek, to me.” Agag came to him struggling and saying, “So it is bitter death!” 33 And Samuel said,

“As your sword has made women childless,
    so shall your mother be childless among women.”

Then he cut Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.(R) 34 Samuel departed for Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Never again, as long as he lived, did Samuel see Saul. Yet he grieved over Saul, because the Lord repented that he had made him king of Israel.(S)

Footnotes

  1. 15:1–35 The rejection of Saul sets the stage for the remainder of 1 Samuel. The audience knows that, in the ensuing struggle between David and Saul, David will triumph as king.
  2. 15:3 Put under the ban: this terminology mandates that all traces of the Amalekites (people, cities, animals, etc.) be exterminated. No plunder could be seized for personal use. In the light of Dt 20:16–18, this injunction would eliminate any tendency toward syncretism. The focus of this chapter is that Saul fails to execute this order.
  3. 15:4 The numbers here are not realistic; compare 14:2.
  4. 15:6 The Kenites honored the terms of an alliance with Israel.
  5. 15:22 Samuel’s reprimand echoes that of the prophets. Cultic practice is meaningless, even hypocritical, unless accompanied by an attentiveness to God’s will.
  6. 15:29 Nor repents: the apparent contradiction between this verse and vv. 11, 35 leads some scholars to consider it a gloss (cf. Nm 23:19). However, this phrase can be understood to underscore the definitive character of Samuel’s declaration that Saul has lost the kingship.
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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. 1 Samuel 15:1 Or listen to, cf. 15:14, 19, 20, 24
  2. 1 Samuel 15:2 Or visit
  3. 1 Samuel 15:4 Lit mustered
  4. 1 Samuel 15:7 Lit before
  5. 1 Samuel 15:11 Lit after
  6. 1 Samuel 15:12 Lit and went down
  7. 1 Samuel 15:18 Lit way
  8. 1 Samuel 15:19 Or listen to, cf. 15:14
  9. 1 Samuel 15:20 Or listen to, cf. 15:14
  10. 1 Samuel 15:24 Lit mouth
  11. 1 Samuel 15:32 Or cheerfully
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

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