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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

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

12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel.(E) There he has set up a monument(F) in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”

13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

16 “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” Saul replied.

17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small(G) in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder(H) and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

20 “But I did obey(I) the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

22 But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,(J)
    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,(K)
    and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected(L) the word of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned.(M) I violated(N) the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid(O) of the men and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive(P) my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”

26 But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected(Q) the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!”

27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe,(R) and it tore.(S) 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn(T) the kingdom(U) of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.(V) 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie(W) or change(X) his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

30 Saul replied, “I have sinned.(Y) But please honor(Z) me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

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