< 1 Samuel 15 >
1 Afterward Samuel said vnto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee King ouer his people, ouer Israel: nowe therefore obey the voyce of the wordes of the Lord.
2 Thus saith the Lord of hostes, I remember what Amalek did to Israel, howe they laide waite for the in ye way, as they came vp from Egypt.
3 Nowe therefore goe, and sinite Amalek, and destroy ye all that perteyneth vnto them, and haue no compassion on them, but slay both man and woman, both infant and suckling, both oxe, and sheepe, both camell, and asse.
4 And Saul assembled ye people, and nombred them in Telaim, two hundreth thousande footemen, and ten thousand men of Iudah.
5 And Saul came to a citie of Amalek, and set watch at the riuer.
6 And Saul said vnto the Kenites, Goe, depart, and get you downe from among the Amalekites, least I destroy you with them: for ye shewed mercie to all the children of Israel, when they came vp from Egypt: and the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 So Saul smote the Amalekites from Hauilah as thou commest to Shur, that is before Egypt,
8 And tooke Agag the King of the Amalekites aliue, and destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the better sheepe, and the oxen, and the fat beasts, and the lambes, and all that was good, and they would not destroy them: but euery thing that was vile and nought worth, that they destroyed.
10 Then came the worde of the Lord vnto Samuel, saying,
11 It repenteth me that I haue made Saul King: for he is turned from me, and hath not performed my commandements. And Samuel was mooued, and cryed vnto the Lord all night.
12 And when Samuel arose early to meete Saul in the morning, one tolde Samuel, saying, Saul is gone to Carmel: and beholde, he hath made him there a place, from whence he returned, and departed, and is gone downe to Gilgal.
13 Then Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said vnto him. Blessed be thou of the Lord, I haue fulfilled the commandement of the Lord.
14 But Samuel saide, What meaneth then the bleating of the sheepe in mine eares, and the lowing of the oxen which I heare?
15 And Saul answered, They haue brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheepe, and of the oxen to sacrifice them vnto the Lord thy God, and the remnant haue we destroyed.
16 Againe Samuel saide to Saul, Let me tell thee what the Lord hath saide to me this night. And he said vnto him, Say on.
17 Then Samuel saide, When thou wast litle in thine owne sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord anointed thee King ouer Israel.
18 And the Lord sent thee on a iourney, and saide, Goe, and destroy those sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them, vntill thou destroy them.
19 Nowe wherefore hast thou not obeyed the voyce of the Lord, but hast turned to the pray, and hast done wickedly in the sight of the Lord?
20 And Saul saide vnto Samuel, Yea, I haue obeyed the voyce of the Lord, and haue gone the way which the Lord sent me, and haue brought Agag the King of Amalek, and haue destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people tooke of the spoyle, sheepe, and oxen, and the chiefest of the things which shoulde haue bene destroyed, to offer vnto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel saide, Hath the Lord as great pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as when the voyce of the Lord is obeyed? beholde, to obey is better then sacrifice, and to hearken is better then the fatte of rammes.
23 For rebellion is as the sinne of withcraft, and transgression is wickednesse and idolatrie. Because thou hast cast away the worde of the Lord, therefore hee hath cast away thee from being King.
24 Then Saul sayde vnto Samuel, I haue sinned: for I haue transgressed the commandement of the Lord, and thy wordes, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voyce.
25 Nowe therefore I pray thee, take away my sinne, and turne againe with mee, that I may worship the Lord.
26 But Samuel saide vnto Saul, I will not returne 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 ouer Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned himselfe to goe away, he caught the lappe of his coate, and it rent.
28 Then Samuel saide vnto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdome of Israel from thee this day, and hath giuen it to thy neighbour, that is better then thou.
29 For in deede the strength of Israel will not lye nor repent: for hee is not a man that hee should repent.
30 Then he saide, I haue sinned: but honour mee, I pray thee, before the Elders of my people, and before Israel, and turne againe with mee, that I may worship the Lord thy God.
31 So Samuel turned againe, and followed Saul: and Saul worshipped the Lord.
32 Then saide Samuel, Bring yee hither to me Agag ye King of the Amalekites: and Agag came vnto him pleasantly, and Agag saide, Truely the bitternesse of death is passed.
33 And Samuel sayde, As thy sworde hath made women childlesse, so shall thy mother bee childelesse among other women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
34 So Samuel departed to Ramah, and Saul went vp to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul vntill the day of his death: but Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord repented that hee made Saul King ouer Israel.
