151 Then Samuel said to Saul , " The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people , over Israel ; now therefore, listen to the words of the Lord . 2 "Thus says the Lord of hosts , 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel , how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt . 3 'Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman , child and infant , ox and sheep , camel and donkey .' " 4 Then Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim , 200,000 e foot soldiers and 10,000 e men of Judah . 5 Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley . 6 Saul said to the Kenites , "Go , depart , go down from among the Amalekites , so that I do not destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt ." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites . 7 So Saul defeated the Amalekites , from Havilah as you go to Shur , which is east e of Egypt . 8 He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive , and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword . 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep , the oxen , the fatlings , the lambs , and all that was good , and were not willing to destroy them utterly ; but everything e despised and worthless , that they utterly destroyed .
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel , saying , 11 " I regret that I have made Saul king , for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands ." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night . 12 Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul ; and it was told Samuel , saying , "Saul came to Carmel , and behold , he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on down to Gilgal ." 13 Samuel came to Saul , and Saul said to him, " Blessed are you of the Lord ! I have carried out the command of the Lord ." 14 But Samuel said , " What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears , and the lowing of the oxen which I hear ?" 15 Saul said , "They have brought them from the Amalekites , for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen , to sacrifice to the Lord your God ; but the rest we have utterly destroyed ." 16 Then Samuel said to Saul , "Wait , and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night ." And he said to him, "Speak !" 17 Samuel said , "Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes , you were made the head of the tribes of Israel ? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel , 18 and the Lord sent you on a mission , and said , ' Go and utterly destroy the sinners , the Amalekites , and fight against them until they are exterminated .' 19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord , but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord ?" 20 Then Saul said to Samuel , " I did obey the voice of the Lord , and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek , and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites . 21 "But the people took some of the spoil , sheep and oxen , the choicest of the things devoted to destruction , to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal ." 22 Samuel said , " Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold , to obey is better than sacrifice , And to heed than the fat of rams . 23 "For rebellion is as the sin of divination , And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry . Because you have rejected the word of the Lord , He has also rejected you from being king ."
24 Then Saul said to Samuel , " I have sinned ; I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord and your words , because I feared the people and listened to their voice . 25 "Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord ." 26 But Samuel said to Saul , "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord , and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel ." 27 As Samuel turned to go , Saul seized the edge of his robe , and it tore . 28 So Samuel said to him, " The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor , who is better than you. 29 "Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind ; for He is not a man that He should change His mind ." 30 Then he said , "I have sinned ; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel , and go back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God ." 31 So Samuel went back following Saul , and Saul worshiped the Lord .
32 Then Samuel said , "Bring me Agag , the king of the Amalekites ." And Agag came to him cheerfully . And Agag said , "Surely the bitterness of death is past ." 33 But Samuel said , " As your sword has made women childless , so shall your mother be childless among women ." And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal . 34 Then Samuel went to Ramah , but Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul . 35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death ; for Samuel grieved over Saul . And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel .
