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1 Samuel 15:10-31
Legacy Standard Bible

Yahweh Regrets He Made Saul King

10 Then the word of Yahweh came to Samuel, saying, 11 “(A)I regret that I have made Saul king, for (B)he has turned back from [a]following Me and has not established My words.” And Samuel became angry and (C)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 (D)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on [b]down to (E)Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “(F)Blessed are you of Yahweh! I have established the word of Yahweh.” 14 But Samuel said, “(G)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 (H)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, (I)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 [c]mission and said, ‘(J)Go and devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not [d]obey the voice of Yahweh, (K)but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh?”

20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “(L)I did [e]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 (M)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,

“(N)Has Yahweh as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of Yahweh?
Behold, (O)to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of (P)divination,
And insubordination is as (Q)wickedness and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh,
(R)He has also rejected you from being king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “(S)I have sinned; (T)I have indeed trespassed against the [f]command of Yahweh and your words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 So now, (U)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 (V)you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 Then Samuel turned to go, but (W)Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, “(X)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 (Y)Eternal One of Israel (Z)will not lie or have regret; for He is not a man that He should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; (AA)but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, (AB)that I may worship Yahweh your God.” 31 So Samuel returned, following after Saul, and Saul worshiped Yahweh.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 15:11 Lit after
  2. 1 Samuel 15:12 Lit and went down
  3. 1 Samuel 15:18 Lit way
  4. 1 Samuel 15:19 Or listen to, cf. 15:14
  5. 1 Samuel 15:20 Or listen to, cf. 15:14
  6. 1 Samuel 15:24 Lit mouth
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1 Samuel 15:10-31
New English Translation

10 Then the Lord’s message came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, “Saul has gone to Carmel where[a] he is setting up a monument for himself.” Then Samuel left[b] and went down to Gilgal.[c] 13 When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “May the Lord bless you! I have fulfilled the Lord’s orders.”[d]

14 Samuel replied, “If that is the case,[e] then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They were brought[f] from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered.”

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute![g] Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul[h] said to him, “Tell me.” 17 Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose[i] you as king over Israel. 18 The Lord sent you on a campaign[j] saying, ‘Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you[k] have destroyed them.’ 19 Why haven’t you obeyed[l] the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord’s estimation.”[m]

20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed[n] the Lord! I went on the campaign[o] the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. 21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle—the best of what was to be slaughtered—to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

22 Then Samuel said,

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as he does in obedience?[p]
Certainly,[q] obedience[r] is better than sacrifice;
paying attention is better than[s] the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the Lord’s orders,[t]
he has rejected you from being king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded[u] and your words as well. For I was afraid of the army,[v] and I obeyed their voice. 25 Now please forgive my sin. Go back with me so I can worship the Lord.”

26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the Lord’s orders,[w] and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”

27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul[x] grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you! 29 The Preeminent One[y] of Israel does not go back on his word[z] or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.”[aa] 30 Saul[ab] again replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 15:12 tn Heb “and look.”
  2. 1 Samuel 15:12 tn Heb “and he turned and crossed over.” Some translations assume that the quotation continues and that “he” is Saul. The wording of the LXX, “he went down to Gilgal to Saul” assumes that Samuel is the subject and that the quotation has ended.tc The LXX also has “he returned the chariot” or “the chariot returned” before “he went down.” Again this may or may not be part of the quotation.
  3. 1 Samuel 15:12 tc At the end of v. 12 the LXX and one Old Latin ms include the following words not found in the MT: “to Saul. And behold, he was offering as a burnt offering to the Lord the best of the spoils that he had brought from the Amalekites.” The Lucianic Greek translation does not include this text.
  4. 1 Samuel 15:13 tn Or “message, word.”
  5. 1 Samuel 15:14 tn The words “if that is the case” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  6. 1 Samuel 15:15 tn Heb “they brought them.”
  7. 1 Samuel 15:16 tn Or perhaps “be quiet.”
  8. 1 Samuel 15:16 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the singular (“he said”) rather than the plural (“they said”) of the Kethib.tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  9. 1 Samuel 15:17 tn Heb “anointed.”
  10. 1 Samuel 15:18 tn Heb “journey.”
  11. 1 Samuel 15:18 tc The translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum in reading the second person singular suffix (“you”) rather than the third person plural suffix of the MT (“they”).
  12. 1 Samuel 15:19 tn Heb “listened to the voice of the Lord.”
  13. 1 Samuel 15:19 tn Heb “you have done what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
  14. 1 Samuel 15:20 tn Heb “listened to the voice of the Lord.”
  15. 1 Samuel 15:20 tn Heb “journey.”
  16. 1 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”
  17. 1 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “look.”
  18. 1 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “listening.”
  19. 1 Samuel 15:22 tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).
  20. 1 Samuel 15:23 tn Or “message, word.”
  21. 1 Samuel 15:24 tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.”
  22. 1 Samuel 15:24 tn Heb “people.”
  23. 1 Samuel 15:26 tn Or “message, word.”
  24. 1 Samuel 15:27 tn Heb “he,” but Saul is clearly the referent. A Qumran ms and the LXX include the name “Saul” here.
  25. 1 Samuel 15:29 tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the Lord.
  26. 1 Samuel 15:29 tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”
  27. 1 Samuel 15:29 sn This observation marks the preceding statement (v. 28) as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree he will not alter it or change his mind. This does not mean that God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind. On the contrary, several passages describe him as changing his mind. In fact, his willingness to do so is one of his fundamental divine attributes (see Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Change His Mind?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.
  28. 1 Samuel 15:30 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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