Saul Spares Agag of Amalek

15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Adonai sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, listen to the voice of the words of Adonai! ² Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot: ‘I remember what Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. ³ Now go and strike down Amalek and put all he has under the ban of destruction—so have no pity on him; but kill both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

⁴ So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them in Telaim: 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. ⁵ Saul advanced to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. ⁶ Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, or else I may destroy you with them—for you showed kindness to all Bnei-Yisrael when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites.

⁷ Then Saul struck down the Amalekites from Havilah until you come to Shur, which is close to Egypt. ⁸ He captured King Agag of Amalek alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag as well as the best of the sheep, the cattle, even the fatlings and the lambs, and all that was good, since they were not willing to utterly destroy them; everything that was worthless and feeble, they destroyed completely.

¹⁰ Then the word of Adonai came to Samuel saying: ¹¹ “I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” So Samuel was troubled and cried out to Adonai all night long. ¹² Then Samuel rose early in the morning to confront Saul. But it was reported to Samuel saying, “Saul went to Carmel—for some reason, he erected a monument for himself. Then he turned and went down to Gilgal.”

¹³ Now when Samuel reached Saul, Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of Adonai! I have carried out Adonai’s command.”

¹⁴ But Samuel said, “Then what is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”

¹⁵ “They brought them from the Amalekites,” Saul replied, “for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to Adonai your God—but the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

¹⁶ “Stop!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what Adonai said to me last night.”

“Say on,” he said.

¹⁷ Then Samuel said, “Isn’t it true, though you were insignificant in your own eyes, that you were made head of the tribes of Israel? Adonai anointed you king over Israel! ¹⁸ Then Adonai sent you on a mission and said: ‘Go and utterly destroy the Amalekites, the sinners, and wage war against them until you annihilate them.’ ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of Adonai, but rushed greedily onto the spoil—doing what was evil in Adonai’s eyes?”

²⁰ “But I did obey the voice of Adonai,” Saul said to Samuel. “I went on the mission on which Adonai sent me, and brought back Agag the king of Amalek—and utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹ But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen—the best of what was under the ban of destruction—to sacrifice to Adonai your God in Gilgal.”

²² Samuel said:

²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination

and stubbornness is like iniquity

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned! For I have transgressed against the word of Adonai and your words—because I feared the people and listened to their voice. ^{[b] 25} So now, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship Adonai.”

²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of Adonai, and Adonai has rejected you as king over Israel.”

²⁷ As Samuel turned about to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ Then Samuel said to him, “Adonai has torn the kingship over Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. ²⁹ Moreover, the Eternal Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind.^[c] For He is not human that He should change His mind.”

³⁰ Then Saul said, “I have sinned! But please, honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me until I bow in worship to Adonai your God.” ³¹ So Samuel returned after Saul, and Saul bowed in worship to Adonai.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag the king of Amalek.” Agag approached him in chains, thinking, “Surely bitter death has turned back.” ³³ Then Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.” Then Samuel cut Agag into pieces before Adonai in Gilgal.

³⁴ Samuel then went to Ramah, while Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Samuel never did see Saul again until the day of his death. Yet Samuel mourned over Saul, while Adonai regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

Samuel Anoints David

16 Now Adonai said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse the Beth-lehemite, for I have selected for Myself a king among his sons.”

² But Samuel replied, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.”

Adonai said, “Take a heifer with you and say: ‘I have come to sacrifice to Adonai.’ ³ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You will anoint for Me whom I tell you.”

⁴ So Samuel did what Adonai said and went to Beth-lehem. The elders of the town came out to meet him trembling, and asked, “Do you come in shalom?”

⁵ “In shalom,” he said. “I have come to sacrifice to Adonai. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁶ Upon their arrival, he saw Eliab and thought, “Surely, Adonai’s anointed one is before Him.”

⁷ But Adonai said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have already refused him. For He does not see a man as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Adonai looks into the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. But he said, “Neither has Adonai chosen this one.” ⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by and again he said, “Neither has Adonai chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “Adonai has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the boys you have?”

“There’s still the youngest,” he replied. But right now, he’s tending the sheep.”

“Send and bring him,” Samuel said to Jesse, “for we will not sit down until he comes here.” ¹² So he sent word and had him come. Now he was ruddy-cheeked, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance.

Then Adonai said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is the one.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. From that day on Ruach Adonai came mightily upon David. Then Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

David Soothes Saul’s Torment

¹⁴ Now the Ruach Adonai had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Adonai terrified him. ¹⁵ So Saul’s courtiers said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our lord now command your courtiers in your service to search for a man who is a skillful player on the harp. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes on you, he will play with his instrument and you will feel better.”

¹⁷ So Saul said to his courtiers, “Find me someone who can play well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸ One of the young men answered and said, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite who is skillful in playing music. He is a mighty man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, a handsome man, and Adonai is with him.”

¹⁹ So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the flock.” ²⁰ So Jesse took a donkey, loaded it with bread, a bottle of wine and a young goat, and sent them with his son David to Saul. ²¹ Then David came to Saul and became one of his attendants. Saul loved him greatly, so David became his armor-bearer. ²² Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, “Let David now keep attending me, for he has found favor in my eyes.” ²³ It came to pass, whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand. So Saul would find relief and feel better, as the evil spirit departed from him.

Mercy for a Sinful Woman

8 But Yeshua went to the Mount of Olives. ² At dawn, He came again into the Temple. All the people were coming to Him, and He sat down and began to teach them.

³ The Torah scholars and Pharisees bring in a woman who had been caught in adultery. After putting her in the middle, ⁴ they say to Yeshua, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of committing adultery. ⁵ In the Torah, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?” ⁶ Now they were saying this to trap Him, so that they would have grounds to accuse Him.

But Yeshua knelt down and started writing in the dirt with His finger. ⁷ When they kept asking Him, He stood up and said, “The sinless one among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Then He knelt down again and continued writing on the ground.

⁹ Now when they heard, they began to leave, one by one, the oldest ones first, until Yeshua was left alone with the woman in the middle. ¹⁰ Straightening up, Yeshua said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

¹¹ “No one, Sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Yeshua said. “Go, and sin no more.”

The Light of the World

¹² Yeshua spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows Me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

¹³ Then the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself, so Your testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴ Yeshua answered them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid. For I know where I came from and where I am going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh, but I do not judge anyone. ¹⁶ Yet even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because it is not I alone but I with the Father who sent Me. ¹⁷ Even in your Torah it is written that the testimony of two men is true. ^{[a] 18} I am one witness for Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness for Me.”

¹⁹ Then they said to Him, “Where is your Father?”

Yeshua answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would also know My Father.” ²⁰ He spoke these words in the treasury while teaching in the Temple, but no one arrested Him because His hour had not yet come.

My Lord is a Kohen Forever

Psalm 110

Pursue Righteousness and Reproof