Saul Rejected as King

15 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to ·appoint [anoint] you king over [^Lhis people] Israel. Now listen to ·his message [^Lthe words of the Lord]. ² This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; of hosts] says: ‘When the Israelites came out of Egypt, the Amalekites ·tried to stop them from going to Canaan [opposed/laid a trap for them; Ex. 17:8–16]. So I will ·punish [settle accounts with] them [Deut. 25:17–19]. ³ Now go, ·attack [crush; ^Lstrike] the Amalekites and ·completely destroy everything they own as an offering devoted to the Lord [devote to destruction; ^CIsrael was commanded to kill all the inhabitants of the land; Deut. 20:15–18]. Don’t ·let anything live [spare anything]. Put to death men and women, children and small babies, ·cattle [ox] and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

⁴ So Saul ·called [mobilized] the army together at Telaim and ·counted [reviewed] them. There were two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah. ⁵ Then Saul went to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the ·ravine [valley]. ⁶ He said to the Kenites [Gen. 15:19; Num. 24:21–22; Judg. 4:11; 5:24], “·Go [Move] away. Leave the Amalekites ·so that I won’t [or I will] destroy you with them, because you showed ·kindness [lovingkindness; treaty faithfulness] to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

⁷ Then Saul ·defeated [^Lstruck] the Amalekites. He fought them all the way from Havilah to Shur, ·at the border [east] of Egypt. ⁸ He ·took [captured] King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he ·killed all of Agag’s army [totally destroyed all the people; 15:3] with the sword. ⁹ Saul and the ·army let Agag live [people spared Agag], along with the best sheep, [^Loxen,] fat cattle, and lambs. They let every ·good [valuable] animal live, because they did not want to ·destroy them [devote them to destruction; 15:3]. But when they found an animal that was ·weak [despised] or useless, they ·killed it [devoted it to destruction].

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke his word to Samuel: ¹¹ “I ·am sorry [regret] I made Saul king, because he has ·stopped [turned away from] following me and has not ·obeyed [carried out] my commands.” Samuel was ·upset [distressed; angry; deeply moved], and he cried out to the Lord all night long.

¹² Early the next morning Samuel got up and went to ·meet [find] Saul. But the people told Samuel, “Saul has gone to Carmel, where he has put up a monument ·in his own honor [to himself]. Now he has gone down to Gilgal.”

¹³ When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said, “May the Lord bless you! I have ·obeyed [carried out; upheld] the Lord’s commands.”

¹⁴ But Samuel said, “Then why do I hear ·cattle mooing [oxen lowing] and sheep bleating?”

¹⁵ Saul answered, “The ·soldiers [people] took them from the Amalekites. They saved the best sheep and cattle to offer as sacrifices to the Lord your God, but we ·destroyed [devoted to destruction; 15:3] all the other animals.”

¹⁶ Samuel said to Saul, “·Stop [Enough]! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

Saul answered, “·Tell me [Speak].”

¹⁷ Samuel said, “·Once [Although] you ·didn’t think much of yourself [^Lare/were little/small in your own eyes], but now you have become the ·leader [head] of the tribes of Israel. The Lord ·appointed [anointed] you to be king over Israel. ¹⁸ And he sent you on a mission. He said, ‘Go and ·destroy [devote to destruction; 15:3] those ·evil people [^Lsinners], the Amalekites. Make war on them until all of them are ·dead [wiped out; exterminated; consumed].’ ¹⁹ Why didn’t you obey the [^Lthe voice of the] Lord? Why did you ·take the best things [^Lrush for/pounce on the plunder/spoils]? Why did you do what ·the Lord said was wrong [^Lwas evil in the Lord’s sight/eyes]?”

²⁰ Saul said [^Lto Samuel], “But I did obey [^Lthe voice of] the Lord. I ·did what the Lord told [went on the mission the Lord gave] me to do. I ·destroyed [devoted to destruction; 15:3] all the Amalekites, and I brought back Agag their king. ²¹ The ·soldiers [people] took [^Lfrom the plunder/spoil] the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

²² But Samuel answered,

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I ·didn’t obey [broke; violated; transgressed] the Lord’s commands and your ·words [instructions]. I was afraid of the people, and I ·did what they said [^Llistened to their voice]. ²⁵ Now, I beg you, ·forgive [pardon] my sin. Come back with me so I may worship the Lord.”

²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, “I won’t go back with you. You rejected the Lord’s ·command [word], and now he rejects you as king of Israel.”

²⁷ As Samuel turned to leave, Saul ·caught [grabbed] his robe, and it tore. ²⁸ Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors [^CDavid; 16:13] who is better than you. ²⁹ The Lord is the ·Eternal One [or Glory] of Israel. He does not lie or change his mind. He is not a ·human being [mortal], so he does not change his mind.”

³⁰ Saul answered, “I have sinned. But please ·honor [respect] me in front of the elders of my people and in front of the Israelites. Come back with me so that I can worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.”

Agag came to Samuel ·in chains [or cheerfully; hopefully; or haltingly], but Agag thought, “Surely the ·threat [bitterness] of death has passed. [or Surely, death is bitter].”

³³ Samuel said to him, “Your sword made other mothers ·lose their children [childless]. Now your mother will ·have no children [be childless].” And Samuel ·cut Agag to pieces [butchered Agag] before the Lord at Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel left and went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah [^Lof Saul]. ³⁵ And Samuel never saw Saul again ·the rest of his life [^Luntil the day of his death], but he ·was sad [mourned; grieved] for Saul. And the Lord ·was very sorry [regretted] he had made Saul king of Israel.