1And Samuel said unto Saul , Jehovah sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people , over Israel : now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of Jehovah . 2Thus saith Jehovah of hosts , I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel , how he set himself against him in the way , when he came up out of Egypt . 3Now 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 .
Saul's Disobedience
4And Saul summoned the people , and numbered them in Telaim , two hundred thousand footmen , and ten thousand men of Judah . 5And Saul came to the city of Amalek , and laid wait in the valley . 6And 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 . 7And Saul smote the Amalekites , from Havilah as thou goest to Shur , that is before Egypt . 8And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive , and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword . 9But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep , and of the oxen , and of the fatlings , and the lambs , and all that was good , and would not utterly destroy them : but everything that was vile and refuse , that they destroyed utterly .
Samuel Confronts Saul
10Then came the word of Jehovah unto Samuel , saying , 11It 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 Samuel was wroth ; and he cried unto Jehovah all night . 12And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning ; and it was told Samuel , saying, Saul came to Carmel , and , behold , he set him up a monument , and turned , and passed on , and went down to Gilgal . 13And Samuel came to Saul ; and Saul said unto him , Blessed be thou of Jehovah : I have performed the commandment of Jehovah . 14And Samuel said , What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear ? 15And 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 Jehovah thy God ; and the rest we have utterly destroyed . 16Then Samuel said unto Saul , Stay , and I will tell thee what Jehovah hath said to me this night . And he said unto him , Say on . 17And Samuel said, Though thou wast little in thine own sight , wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel ? And Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel ; 18and Jehovah sent thee on a journey , and said, Go , and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites , and fight against them until they be consumed . 19Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of Jehovah , but didst fly upon the spoil , and didst that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah ?
The Consequences of Disobedience
20And Saul said unto Samuel , Yea, I have obeyed the voice of Jehovah , and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me , and have brought Agag the king of Amalek , and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites . 21But the people took of the spoil , sheep and oxen , the chief of the devoted things , to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal . 22And Samuel said , Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices , as in obeying the voice of Jehovah ? Behold , to obey is better than sacrifice , and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft , and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim . Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah , he hath also rejected thee from being king . 24And Saul said unto Samuel , I have sinned ; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah , and thy words , because I feared the people , and obeyed their voice . 25Now therefore , I pray thee , pardon my sin , and turn again with me , that I may worship Jehovah . 26And Samuel said unto Saul , I will not return with thee ; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah , and Jehovah hath rejected thee from being king over Israel . 27And as Samuel turned about to go away , Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his robe , and it rent . 28And Samuel said unto him , Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day , and hath given it to a neighbor of thine , that is better than thou . 29And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent ; for he is not a man, that he should repent . 30Then he said, I have sinned : yet honor me now , I pray thee , before the elders of my people , and before Israel , and turn again with me , that I may worship Jehovah thy God . 31So Samuel turned again after Saul ; and Saul worshipped Jehovah . 32Then said Samuel , Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites . And Agag came unto him cheerfully. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past . 33And Samuel said , As thy sword hath made women childless , so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal . 34Then Samuel went to Ramah ; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul . 35And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death ; for Samuel mourned for Saul : and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel .