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1 Samuel 15
1599 Geneva Bible
1 Samuel 15
1599 Geneva Bible
15 3 Saul is commanded to slay Amalek. 9 He spareth Agag, and the best things. 19 Samuel reproveth him. 28 Saul is rejected of the Lord, and his Kingdom given to another. 33 Samuel heweth Agag in pieces.
1 Afterward Samuel said unto Saul, (A)The Lord sent me to anoint thee King over his people, over Israel: now therefore [a]obey the voice of the words of the Lord.
2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember what Amalek did to Israel, (B)how they laid wait for them in the way, as they came up from Egypt.
3 Now therefore go, and smite Amalek, and destroy ye all that pertaineth unto them, and have no compassion on them, but [b]slay both man and woman, both infant and suckling, both ox, and sheep, both camel, and ass.
4 ¶ And Saul assembled the people, and [c]numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and [d]set watch at the river.
6 And Saul said unto the [e]Kenites, Go, depart, and get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed [f]mercy to all the children of Israel, when they came up from Egypt: and the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 So Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah, as thou comest to Shur, that is before Egypt,
8 And took Agag the King of the Amalekites alive, and destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the better sheep, and the oxen, and the fat beasts, and the lambs, and all that was good, and they would not destroy them; but everything that was vile and nought worth, that they destroyed.
10 ¶ Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,
11 It [g]repenteth me that I have made Saul King; for he is turned from me, and hath not performed my commandments. And Samuel was moved, and cried unto the Lord all night.
12 And when Samuel arose early to meet Saul in the morning, one told Samuel, saying, Saul is gone to Carmel; and behold, he hath made him there a place, from whence he returned, and departed, and is gone down to Gilgal.
13 ¶ Then Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him. Blessed be thou of the Lord, I have fulfilled the [h]commandment of the Lord.
14 But Samuel said, What meaneth then the bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul answered, They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, to sacrifice them unto the Lord thy God, and the remnant have we destroyed.
16 Again Samuel said to Saul, Let me tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 Then Samuel said, When thou wast [i]little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord anointed thee King over Israel.
18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go, and destroy those sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them, until thou destroy them.
19 Now wherefore hast thou not obeyed the voice of the Lord, but hast turned to the prey, and hast done wickedly in the sight of the Lord?
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, [j]I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep, and oxen, and the chiefest of the things which should have been destroyed, to offer unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as when the voice of the Lord is obeyed? behold, (C)to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken is better than the fat of rams.
23 For [k]rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and transgression is wickedness and idolatry. Because thou hast cast away the word of the Lord, therefore he hath cast away thee from being king.
24 Then Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the Commandment of the Lord, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore I pray thee, take away my [l]sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.
26 But Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast cast away the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath cast away thee, that thou shalt not be King over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned himself to go away, he caught the lap of his coat, and it rent.
28 Then Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to thy [m]neighbor, that is better than thou.
29 For indeed the [n]strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man that he should repent.
30 Then he said, I have sinned: but honor me, I pray thee, before the Elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.
31 ¶ So Samuel turned again, and followed Saul: and Saul worshipped the Lord.
32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites: and Agag came unto him [o]pleasantly, and Agag said, Truly the [p]bitterness of death is passed.
33 And Samuel said, (D)As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among other women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
34 ¶ So Samuel departed to [q]Ramah, and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel came no more to [r]see Saul until the day of his death: but Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord [s]repented that he made Saul King over Israel.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:1 Because he hath preferred thee to this honor, thou art bound to obey him.
- 1 Samuel 15:3 That this might be an example of God’s vengeance against them that deal cruelly with his people.
- 1 Samuel 15:4 Or, knew their number by the lambs which they brought.
- 1 Samuel 15:5 Or, fought in the valley.
- 1 Samuel 15:6 Which were the posterity of Jethro Moses’ father-in-law.
- 1 Samuel 15:6 For Jethro came to visit them, and gave them good counsel, Exod. 18:19.
- 1 Samuel 15:11 God in his eternal counsel never changeth nor repenteth, as verse 29, though he seemeth to us to repent when anything goeth contrary to his temporal election.
- 1 Samuel 15:13 This is the nature of hypocrites to be impudent against the truth, to condemn others, and justify themselves.
- 1 Samuel 15:17 Meaning, of base condition, as 1 Sam. 9:21.
- 1 Samuel 15:20 He standeth most impudently in his own defense both against God and his own conscience.
- 1 Samuel 15:23 God hateth nothing more than the disobedience of his Commandment, though the intent seems never so good to man.
- 1 Samuel 15:25 This was not true repentance, but dissimulation, fearing the loss of his kingdom.
- 1 Samuel 15:28 That is, to David.
- 1 Samuel 15:29 Meaning, God, who maintaineth and prefereth his.
- 1 Samuel 15:32 Or, in bonds.
- 1 Samuel 15:32 He suspected nothing less than death, or as some write, he passed not for death.
- 1 Samuel 15:34 Where his house was.
- 1 Samuel 15:35 Though Saul came where Samuel was, 1 Sam. 19:22.
- 1 Samuel 15:35 As verse 11.
1 Samuel 15
New International Version
1 Samuel 15
New International Version
The Lord Rejects Saul as King
15 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint(A) you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites(B) for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally(C) destroy[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites,(D) “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites(E) all the way from Havilah to Shur,(F) near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag(G) king of the Amalekites alive,(H) and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared(I) Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves[b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret(J) that I have made Saul king, because he has turned(K) away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”(L) Samuel was angry,(M) 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.(N) There he has set up a monument(O) 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(P) 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(Q) and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”
20 “But I did obey(R) 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,(S)
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,(T)
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected(U) the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned.(V) I violated(W) the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid(X) of the men and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive(Y) 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(Z) 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,(AA) and it tore.(AB) 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn(AC) the kingdom(AD) of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.(AE) 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie(AF) or change(AG) his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”
30 Saul replied, “I have sinned.(AH) But please honor(AI) 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.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”
Agag came to him in chains.[c] And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
33 But Samuel said,
“As your sword has made women childless,
so will your mother be childless among women.”(AJ)
And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel left for Ramah,(AK) but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah(AL) of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel(AM) died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned(AN) for him. And the Lord regretted(AO) that he had made Saul king over Israel.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20 and 21.
- 1 Samuel 15:9 Or the grown bulls; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- 1 Samuel 15:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.