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1 Samuel 15
New Catholic Bible
1 Samuel 15
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 15[a]
Saul’s Disobedience. 1 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Therefore, hearken to the sound of the words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will remember what the Amalekites did to Israel when they waylaid them as they were coming up out of Egypt. 3 Go now, and attack Amalek. Wipe out everything that belongs to them. Do not spare any of them, kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”
4 Saul summoned the people and counted them at Telaim. There were two hundred thousand soldiers and ten thousand men from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set up an ambush in the valley.
6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go away, leave the Amalekites, so that I not destroy you along with them. You were kind to all of the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.[b]
7 Saul then struck down the Amalekites from Havilah down to Shur which lies to the east of Egypt. 8 He captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites alive, but he put all of the people to the sword. 9 Saul and the people spared Agag, all of the best of the sheep and oxen, the fat calves and lambs, everything that was good. Yet, everything that was weak and useless they totally destroyed.
10 Samuel Rebukes Saul. The word of the Lord came to Samuel saying, 11 “I am sorry that I appointed Saul as king, for he has turned away from me by not observing my commandments.” Samuel was disturbed, and he cried out to the Lord all that night. 12 Early in the morning, Samuel went out to meet Saul. Samuel was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. He set up a monument there for himself, so he turned around and traveled on, going down to Gilgal.”[c]
13 Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “May you be blessed. I have fulfilled the command of the Lord.” 14 Samuel responded, “Then what is the bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul answered, “They have brought them from the Amalekites. The people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord, your God. We have totally destroyed the rest of it.” 16 Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me tonight.” He said, “Keep speaking.” 17 Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own opinion, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? Has the Lord not anointed you as king over Israel? 18 The Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites. Fight against them until they are wiped out.’ 19 Why did you not heed the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil, doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”
20 Saul answered Samuel, “But I did hearken to the voice of the Lord. I went on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have wiped out Agag, the king of Amalek, and the Amalekites. 21 The people took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the dedicated things, to sacrifice them to the Lord, your God, in Gilgal.”
22 [d]But Samuel replied, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in heeding the voice of the Lord? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, being attentive is better than the fat of rams. 23 Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft, arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
24 Saul Asks for Pardon. Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned against the command of the Lord and against your instruction because I was afraid of the people and I listened to their complaints. 25 Now, I beg you, forgive my sin and return with me, so that I can worship the Lord.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you because you have rejected the word of the Lord. The Lord has rejected you as king over Israel.”
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed on to the hem of his garment and tore it. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn away the kingdom of Israel from you today. He has given it to one of your neighbors, someone who is better than you. 29 He who is the strength of Israel does not lie nor does he repent, for he is not a man that he should change his mind.”
30 He said, “I have sinned. Please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me so that I might worship the Lord, your God.” 31 Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32 Agag’s Death. Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” Agag came before him cheerfully, for Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 Then Samuel said, “As your sword made women childless, so among women your mother will be childless.” Samuel then hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord.
34 After this Samuel traveled to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Samuel did not go back to visit Saul again until the day of his death, though Samuel mourned for Saul. The Lord regretted that he had appointed Saul as king over Israel.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:1 This is an another version of Saul’s faults; it took form in circles that did not know the other stories of Saul’s rejection.
- 1 Samuel 15:6 The Kenites were a semi-nomad people who were allied with Israel in the wilderness and during the conquest (Num 10:29; Jdg 1:16).
- 1 Samuel 15:12 Again we see Saul’s dishonor and disrespect for God by erecting a monument to himself. This is totally unlike his predecessors, Moses and Joshua, who put God first in all things.
- 1 Samuel 15:22 A very important passage: the first of the prophets already proclaims the religion of the spirit that will subsequently be the subject of the writing prophets. Religious acts must be done out of obedience and love to be meaningful.
1 Samuel 15
New International Version
1 Samuel 15
New International Version
The Lord Rejects Saul as King
15 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint(A) you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites(B) for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally(C) destroy[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
4 So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5 Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6 Then he said to the Kenites,(D) “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites(E) all the way from Havilah to Shur,(F) near the eastern border of Egypt. 8 He took Agag(G) king of the Amalekites alive,(H) and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared(I) Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves[b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret(J) that I have made Saul king, because he has turned(K) away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”(L) Samuel was angry,(M) and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel.(N) There he has set up a monument(O) in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”
13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”
14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”
15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”
16 “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”
“Tell me,” Saul replied.
17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small(P) in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder(Q) and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”
20 “But I did obey(R) the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,(S)
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,(T)
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected(U) the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned.(V) I violated(W) the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid(X) of the men and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive(Y) my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”
26 But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected(Z) the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!”
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe,(AA) and it tore.(AB) 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn(AC) the kingdom(AD) of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.(AE) 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie(AF) or change(AG) his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”
30 Saul replied, “I have sinned.(AH) But please honor(AI) me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”
Agag came to him in chains.[c] And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
33 But Samuel said,
“As your sword has made women childless,
so will your mother be childless among women.”(AJ)
And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel left for Ramah,(AK) but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah(AL) of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel(AM) died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned(AN) for him. And the Lord regretted(AO) that he had made Saul king over Israel.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20 and 21.
- 1 Samuel 15:9 Or the grown bulls; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- 1 Samuel 15:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.