1 Samuel 15
1 [One day] Samuel said to Saul, “Yahweh sent me to appoint you to be the king of the Israeli people. So now listen to this message from Yahweh:
And Samuel says to Saul, “YHWH sent me to anoint you for king over His people, over Israel; and now, listen to the voice of the words of YHWH.
2 Yahweh, [the commander] of the armies [of angels] has declared this: ‘I am going to punish [the descendants of] Amalek for [attacking] the Israeli people after the Israelis left Egypt.
Thus said YHWH of Hosts: I have looked after that which Amalek did to Israel, that which he laid for him in the way in his going up out of Egypt.
3 So now go [with your army] and attack the Amalek people-group. Destroy them completely—destroy them and everything that belongs to them—the men and women, their children and infants, their cattle and sheep and camels and donkeys. Do not (spare any of them/allow any of them to remain alive)!’”
Now go, and you have struck Amalek, and devoted all that he has, and you have no pity on him, and have put to death from man to woman, from infant to suckling, from ox to sheep, from camel to donkey.”
4 So Saul summoned the army, and they gathered at Telaim [town]. There were 200,000 soldiers. 10,000 of them were from Judah, [and the others were from the other Israeli tribes].
And Saul summons the people, and inspects them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand [are] men of Judah.
5 Then Saul went [with his army] to a town where some of the Amalek people-group lived. [His army prepared to attack them suddenly by] hiding in the valley.
And Saul comes to a city of Amalek, and lays wait in a valley;
6 Then Saul sent this message to the Ken people-group [who lived in that area]: “You acted kindly toward all our Israeli [ancestors] when they left Egypt. But we are going to kill all of the Amalek people-group, [because they opposed/attacked our ancestors]. So move away from where the Amalek people-group live. [If you do not move away], you will be killed when they are killed.” So [when] the Ken people-group [heard that, they immediately] left that area.
and Saul says to the Kenite, “Go, turn aside, go down from the midst of Amalek, lest I consume you with it, and you did kindness with all the sons of Israel, in their going up out of Egypt”; and the Kenite turns aside from the midst of Amalek.
7 Then Saul’s [army] slaughtered the Amalek people-group, from Havilah [town in the east] to Shur [town in the west]. Shur was at the border [between Israel and] Egypt.
And Saul strikes Amalek from Havilah [to] your going to Shur, which [is] on the front of Egypt,
8 Saul’s army captured Agag, the king of the Amalek people-group, but they killed everyone else.
and he catches Agag king of Amalek alive, and he has devoted all the people by the mouth of the sword;
9 They not only (spared/did not kill) Agag, but they also took the best sheep and goats and cattle. They took everything that was good. They destroyed only the animals that they considered to be worthless.
and Saul has pity—also the people—on Agag, and on the best of the flock, and of the herd, and of the seconds, and on the lambs, and on all that [is] good, and have not been willing to devote them; and all the work, despised and wasted—it they devoted.
10 Then Yahweh said to Samuel,
And the word of YHWH is to Samuel, saying,
11 “I am sorry that I appointed Saul to be your king, because he has turned away from me and has not obeyed what I commanded him to do.” Samuel was very disturbed/upset [when he heard that], and he cried out to Yahweh all that night.
“I have regretted that I caused Saul to reign for king, for he has turned back from after Me, and he has not performed My words”; and it is displeasing to Samuel, and he cries to YHWH all the night.
12 Early the next morning, Samuel got up and went to talk with Saul. But someone told Samuel, “Saul went to Camel [city], where he has set up a monument to honor himself. Now he has left there and gone down to Gilgal.”
And Samuel rises early to meet Saul in the morning, and it is declared to Samuel, saying, “Saul has come to Carmel, and behold, he is setting up a monument to himself, and goes around, and passes over, and goes down to Gilgal.”
13 When Samuel arrived [at Gilgal] he approached Saul, and Saul said to him, “I wish/desire that Yahweh will bless you! I have obeyed what Yahweh told me to do.”
And Samuel comes to Saul, and Saul says to him, “Blessed [are] you of YHWH; I have performed the word of YHWH.”
14 But Samuel replied, “If that is true, why is it that I hear cattle mooing and I hear sheep bleating?”
And Samuel says, “And what [is] the noise of this flock in my ears—and the noise of the herd which I am hearing?”
15 Saul replied, “The soldiers took them from the Amalek people-group. They saved the best sheep and cattle, in order to offer them as sacrifices to Yahweh, your God. But we have completely destroyed all the others.”
And Saul says, “They have brought them from Amalek, because the people had pity on the best of the flock, and of the herd, in order to sacrifice to your God YHWH, and we have devoted the remnant.”
16 Samuel said to Saul, “Stop [talking]! Allow me to tell you what Yahweh said to me last night.” Saul replied, “Tell me [what he said].”
And Samuel says to Saul, “Desist, and I declare to you that which YHWH has spoken to me tonight”; and he says to him, “Speak.”
17 Samuel said, “Previously you did not think that you were important. But now you have become [RHQ] the leader of the tribes of Israel. Yahweh appointed you to be their king.
And Samuel says, “Are you not, if you [are] little in your own eyes, head of the tribes of Israel? And YHWH anoints you for king over Israel,
18 And Yahweh sent you to do something [for him]. He said to you, ‘Go and get rid of all those sinful people, the Amalek people-group. Attack them and kill all of them.’
and YHWH sends you in the way, and says, Go, and you have devoted the sinners, the Amalekite, and fought against them until they are consumed;
19 So why did you not obey Yahweh [RHQ]? Why did your men take the best animals [RHQ]? Why did you do what Yahweh said was evil?” [RHQ]
and why have you not listened to the voice of YHWH—and fly to the spoil, and do evil in the eyes of YHWH?”
20 Saul replied to Samuel, “Hey, I did what Yahweh sent me to do! I brought back King Agag, but we killed everyone else!
And Saul says to Samuel, “Because—I have listened to the voice of YHWH, and I go in the way which YHWH has sent me, and bring in Agag king of Amalek, and I have devoted Amalek;
21 My men brought back only the best sheep and cattle and other things, in order to sacrifice them to Yahweh your God here at Gilgal.”
and the people take of the spoil of the flock and herd, the first part of the devoted thing, for sacrifice to your God YHWH in Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied, “Which [do you think] pleases Yahweh more, animals that are completely burned [on the altar] and other sacrifices, or people obeying him [SYN]? It is better to obey [Yahweh] than [to offer] sacrifices [to him]. It is better to pay attention to what he says than [to burn] the fat of rams, [even though God said they should be sacrificed to him].
And Samuel says, “Has YHWH had delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as [in] listening to the voice of YHWH? Behold, listening is better than sacrifice; to give attention than fat of rams;
23 To rebel [against God] is as sinful as doing sorcery/black magic, and being stubborn is as sinful as worshiping idols. So, because you disobeyed what Yahweh told you to do, he has declared that you will no longer be king.”
for rebellion [is as] a sin of divination, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and teraphim; because you have rejected the word of YHWH, He also rejects you from [being] king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “[Yes], I have sinned. I disobeyed what you told me to do, which is what Yahweh commanded. I did that because I was (afraid of/worried about) what my men would say [if I did not do what they wanted]. So I did what they demanded.
And Saul says to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I passed over the command of YHWH, and your words; because I have feared the people, I also listen to their voice;
25 But now, please forgive me for having sinned. And come back with me [to where the people are] in order that I may worship Yahweh.”
and now, please bear with my sin, and return with me, and I bow myself to YHWH.”
26 But Samuel replied, “No, I will not go back with you. You have rejected/disobeyed what Yahweh commanded you to do. So he has rejected you, [and declared that you will no longer] be the king of Israel. [So I do not want to talk any more with you].”
And Samuel says to Saul, “I do not return with you; for you have rejected the word of YHWH, and YHWH rejects you from being king over Israel.”
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul tried to stop him by grabbing the edge of Samuel’s robe, and it tore.
And Samuel turns around to go, and he lays hold on the skirt of his upper robe—and it is torn!
28 Samuel said to him, “[You tore my robe! And] today Yahweh has torn away from you the kingdom of Israel! He will appoint someone else to be king, someone who is a better man than you are.
And Samuel says to him, “YHWH has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and given it to your neighbor who is better than you;
29 And since the one who is the glorious [God] of the Israeli people does not lie, he will not change (his mind/what he has said). Humans sometimes change their minds, but God does not do that, because he is not a human.”
and also, the Preeminence of Israel does not lie nor relent, for He [is] not a man that He should relent.”
30 Then Saul [pleaded again. He] said, “I know that I have sinned. But please honor me in front of the leaders of the Israeli people and in front of all the other Israeli people by coming back [to them] with me in order that I may worship Yahweh your God.”
And he says, “I have sinned; now please honor me before [the] elderly of my people and before Israel, and return with me; and I have bowed myself to your God YHWH.”
31 So Samuel finally agreed to do that, and they went together back [to where the people were], and Saul worshiped Yahweh there.
And Samuel turns back after Saul, and Saul bows himself to YHWH;
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” So they brought Agag to him. Agag was confidently expecting that they would spare him/not kill him. He was thinking, “Surely I will not have to endure an agonizing death!”
and Samuel says, “Bring Agag king of Amalek to me,” and Agag comes to him daintily, and Agag says, “Surely the bitterness of death has turned aside.”
33 But Samuel said to him, “You have killed the sons of many women with your sword, so now your mother will no longer have a son.” And Samuel cut Agag into pieces [with his sword], there at Gilgal, in the presence of Yahweh.
And Samuel says, “As your sword bereaved women—so is your mother bereaved above women”; and Samuel hews Agag in pieces before YHWH in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel left there and returned to his home in Ramah, and Saul went to his home in Gibeah.
And Samuel goes to Ramath, and Saul has gone to his house—to Gibeah of Saul.
35 Samuel never saw Saul again, but he was very sad about [what] Saul [had done]. And Yahweh was very sorry that he had appointed Saul to be the king of Israel.
And Samuel has not added to see Saul until the day of his death, for Samuel mourned for Saul, and YHWH regretted that He had caused Saul to reign over Israel.
