1 Samuel 15
1 And Samuel said unto Saul: 'The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over His people, over Israel; now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
And Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint you king over Israel: and now hear the voice of the Lord.
2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
Thus said the Lord of hosts, Now will I take vengeance for what Amalec did to Israel, when he met him in the way as he came up out of Egypt.
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.'
And now go, and you shall strike Amalec and Hierim and all that belongs to him, and you shall not save anything of him alive, but you shall utterly destroy him: and you shall devote him and all his to [destruction], and you shall spare nothing belonging to him; and you shall kill both man and woman, and infant and suckling, and calf and sheep, and camel and ass.
4 And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
And Saul summoned the people, and he numbered them in Galgala, four hundred thousand regular troops, and Juda thirty thousand regular troops.
5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley.
And Saul came to the cities of Amalec, and laid wait in the valley.
6 And Saul said unto the Kenites: 'Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt.' So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
And Saul said to the Kinite, Go, and depart out of the midst of the Amalekites, lest I put you with them; for you dealt mercifully with the children of Israel when they went up out of Egypt. So the Kinite departed from the midst of Amalec.
7 And Saul smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is in front of Egypt.
And Saul struck Amalec from Evilat to Sur fronting Egypt.
8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
And he took Agag the king of Amalec alive, and he killed all the people and Hierim with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, even the young of the second birth, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but every thing that was of no account and feeble, that they destroyed utterly.
And Saul and all the people saved Agag alive, and the best of the flocks, and of the herds, and of the fruits, of the vineyards, and of all the good things; and they would not destroy them: but every worthless and refuse thing they destroyed.
10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying:
And the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,
11 'It repenteth Me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following Me, and hath not performed My commandments.' And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
I have repented that I have made Saul to be king: for he has turned back from following me, and has not kept my word. And Samuel was grieved, and cried to the Lord all night.
12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying: 'Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he is setting him up a monument, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.'
And Samuel rose early and went to meet Israel in the morning, and it was told Saul, saying, Samuel has come to Carmel, and he has raised up help for himself: and he turned his chariot, and came down to Galgala to Saul; and, behold, he was offering up a whole burnt offering to the Lord, the chief of the spoils which he brought out of Amalec.
13 And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said unto him: 'Blessed be thou of the LORD; I have performed the commandment of the LORD.'
And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said to him, Blessed [are] you of the Lord: I have performed all that the Lord said.
14 And Samuel said: 'What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?'
And Samuel said, What then [is] the bleating of this flock in my ears, and the sound of the oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul said: 'They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.'
And Saul said, I have brought them out of Amalec, that which the people preserved, even the best of the sheep, and of the cattle, that it might be sacrificed to the Lord your God, and the rest have I utterly destroyed.
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul: 'Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night.' And he said unto him: 'Say on.'
And Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell you what the Lord has said to me this night: and he said to him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said: 'Though thou be little in thine own sight, art thou not head of the tribes of Israel? And the LORD anointed thee king over Israel;
And Samuel said to Saul, Are you not little in his eyes, [though] a leader of one of the tribes of Israel? and [yet] the Lord anointed you to be king over Israel.
18 and the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said: Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
And the Lord sent you on a journey, and said to you, Go, and utterly destroy: you shall kill the sinners against me, [even] the Amalekites; and you shall war against them until you have consumed them.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not hearken to the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in the sight of the LORD?'
And why did not you listen to the voice of the Lord, but did haste to fasten upon the spoils, and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord?
20 And Saul said unto Samuel: 'Yea, I have hearkened to 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 utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
And Saul said to Samuel, Because I listened to the voice of the people: yet I went the way by which the Lord sent me, and I brought Agag the king of Amalec, and I destroyed Amalec.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.'
But the people took of the spoils the best flocks and herds [out] of that which was destroyed, to sacrifice before the Lord our God in Galgal.
22 And Samuel said: 'Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in hearkening to the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
And Samuel said, Does the Lord take pleasure in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in hearing the words of the Lord? behold, obedience [is] better than a good sacrifice, and hearkening than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, He hath also rejected thee from being king.'
For sin is [as] divination; idols bring on pain and grief. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord also shall reject you from being king over Israel.
24 And 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 hearkened to their voice.
And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, in that I have transgressed the word of the Lord and your direction; for I feared the people, and I listened to their voice.
25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.'
And now remove, I pray you, my sin, and turn back with me, and I will worship the Lord your God.
26 And Samuel said unto Saul: 'I will not return with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.'
And Samuel said to Saul, I will not turn back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord will reject you from being king over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it rent.
And Samuel turned his face to depart, and Saul caught hold of the skirt of his garment, and tore it.
28 And Samuel said unto him: 'The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
And Samuel said to him, The Lord has tore your kingdom from Israel out of your hand this day, and will give it to your neighbor who is better than you.
29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie nor repent; for He is not a man, that He should repent.'
And Israel shall be divided to two: and [God] will not turn nor repent, for he is not as a man to repent.
30 Then he said: 'I have sinned; yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.'
And Saul said, I have sinned; yet honor me, I pray you, before the elders of Israel, and before my people; and turn back with me, and I will worship the Lord your God.
31 So Samuel returned after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
So Samuel turned back after Saul, and he worshipped the Lord.
32 Then said Samuel: 'Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.' And Agag came unto him in chains. And Agag said: 'Surely the bitterness of death is at hand.'
And Samuel said, Bring me Agag the king of Amalec: and Agag came to him trembling; and Agag said Is death thus bitter?
33 And Samuel said: As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
And Samuel said to Agag, As your sword has bereaved women of their children, so shall your mother be made childless among women: and Samuel killed Agag before the Lord in Galgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeath-shaul.
And Samuel departed to Armathaim, and Saul went up to his house at Gabaa.
35 And Samuel never beheld Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul; and the LORD repented that He had made Saul king over Israel.
And Samuel did not see Saul again till the day of his death, for Samuel mourned after Saul, and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
