Saul’s Disobedience 1 UST One day Samuel said to Saul,“It was Yahweh who sent me to appoint you as king of the Israelite people. So he expects you to obey this message that he has given me for you. BSB BSB: Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD.
2 UST Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, has declared this:‘I am going to punish the descendants of Amalek for attacking the Israelite people when the Israelites left Egypt. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them on their way up from Egypt.
3 UST So now go with your army and attack the Amalekites. Destroy all of the people and all of their possessions. Do not spare any of the people. Kill them all, even if they are women or young children{ who cannot fight against you}. Do not spare any of the animals, even if you could use them for carrying things or for plowing or for wool and milk.’” BSB BSB: Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
4 UST So Saul summoned the Israelite army and gathered them near the city of Telaim. There were 10, 000 soldiers from the tribe of Judah and 200, 000 soldiers from the other Israelite tribes. BSB BSB: So Saul summoned the troops and numbered them at Telaim—200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.
5 UST Then Saul led his army to the main city in which the Amalekites lived. The army hid in a valley so that they could attack them suddenly. BSB BSB: Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.
6 UST But first Saul sent a message to the Kenites, who lived in that area. He told them,“Move away right now from where the Amalekites live. You acted kindly toward our Israelite ancestors when they left Egypt, and so we do not want to kill you when we kill them.” When the Kenites heard that, they immediately left the area where the Amalekites lived. BSB BSB: And he warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt, go on and get away from the Amalekites. Otherwise I will sweep you away with them.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7 UST Then Saul’ s army slaughtered the Amalekites. They killed everyone who lived in the area between the city of Havilah in the east to the region of Shur in the west. Shur was at the border between Israel and Egypt. BSB BSB: Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
8 UST Saul’ s army killed all of those Amalekites as Yahweh had commanded. However, Saul told the soldiers not to kill Agag, the king of the Amalekites. BSB BSB: He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, but devoted all the others to destruction with the sword.
9 UST So Saul and his soldiers spared Agag. They also spared the best animals in the Amalekites’ flocks and herds. They looked for special animals and ones that would taste delicious. They kept animals like that and only destroyed animals that they considered to be worthless. BSB BSB: Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to devote them to destruction, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.
Samuel Denounces Saul 10 UST Then Yahweh said to Samuel, BSB BSB: Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,
11 UST “Saul has not done what I told him to do, and that shows that he is no longer obedient to me. As a result, I am sorry that I appointed Saul to be your king.” But when Samuel heard this, he became very upset. He prayed hard to Yahweh all that night to try to get him to change his mind. BSB BSB: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
12 UST Samuel got started early the next morning so that he could go and speak with Saul. Someone told Samuel,“Saul went to the city of Carmel. He did that to set up a monument in his own honor. Then he left there and went to Gilgal.” BSB BSB: Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and behold, he has set up a monument for himself and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.”
13 UST When Samuel{ arrived at Gilgal} and approached Saul, Saul said,“May Yahweh bless you! I have obeyed what Yahweh told me to do.” BSB BSB: When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
14 UST But Samuel replied,“If that is true, then I should not be hearing sheep bleating or cattle mooing, but I am!” BSB BSB: But Samuel replied, “Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?”
15 UST Saul replied,“The soldiers wanted to save the best sheep and cattle so they could offer them as sacrifices to Yahweh, your God. So they took these animals from the Amalekites and brought them here. But we completely destroyed all the other animals that the Amalekites had.” BSB BSB: Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but the rest we devoted to destruction.”
16 UST 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.” BSB BSB: “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied.
17 UST Samuel said,“Previously you did not think that you were important. But Yahweh appointed you to be the king of Israel, so now you have become the leader of all the tribes of Israel. BSB BSB: And Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, have you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel
18 UST And Yahweh sent you to do something for him. He told you,‘Go and get rid of all those Amalekites who sinned against me. Attack them and kill all of them.’ BSB BSB: and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’
19 UST So you should have done what Yahweh told you to do! You should not have greedily taken for yourself what the Amalekites had{ instead of destroying it}! You have done something that Yahweh considers to be evil.” BSB BSB: So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”
20 UST Saul replied to Samuel,“But I did do what Yahweh sent me to do! While it is true that I brought back the Amalekite king Agag, I and my soldiers killed all the other Amalekites! BSB BSB: “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the LORD gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction.
21 UST And my men brought back only the best of the sheep and cattle and other things so that we could sacrifice them to Yahweh your God once we got here to Gilgal.” BSB BSB: The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
22 UST But Samuel replied,“It pleases Yahweh more when people do what he tells them to do than when they completely burn animals as sacrifices to him and offer him other kinds of sacrifices. It is much better to obey Yahweh than to offer sacrifices to him. It is better to pay attention to what he says{ and do it} than to burn the fat of rams as a sacrifice to him. BSB BSB: But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
23 UST To rebel against God is as sinful as doing sorcery, and stubbornly resisting his correction is as sinful as worshiping idols. You have disobeyed what Yahweh told you to do, and as a result, he has decided that you will no longer be king.” BSB BSB: For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
Saul’s Confession 24 UST Then Saul said to Samuel,“I admit that I have sinned. I disobeyed what you told me Yahweh had commanded. I did that because I was afraid of what the soldiers would do to me if I did not give them what they wanted. BSB BSB: Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
25 UST But please forgive me for sinning. Come back with me{ and sacrifice some of these animals yourself} so that I can worship Yahweh.” BSB BSB: Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship the LORD.”
26 UST But Samuel replied,“No, I will not go back with you. You have chosen to disobey what Yahweh commanded you to do. So he has decided that you will no longer be the king of Israel.” BSB BSB: “I will not return with you,” Samuel replied. “For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and He has rejected you as king over Israel.”
27 UST Then Samuel turned to leave, Saul tried to stop him by grabbing the edge of his robe, and when he did that, he tore off a piece of it. BSB BSB: As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore.
28 UST Samuel said to him,“{ You have taken this piece away from my robe, and in the same way,} Yahweh has now taken the kingship of Israel away from you. He is going to make another Israelite king instead of you. That other Israelite is a better man than you are. BSB BSB: 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 UST You can be sure of this because when the glorious God whom the Israelite people worship says something, he means it and he will not change his mind about it. Humans sometimes change their minds, but God does not do that, because he is not a human.” BSB BSB: Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
30 UST { Then Saul pleaded with Samuel further.} He said,“I admit that I have sinned. But please honor me in front of the Israelite leaders and people by coming with me so that I can worship Yahweh your God.” BSB BSB: “I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”
31 UST So Samuel finally agreed to do that. They went together back to where the people were, and Saul worshiped Yahweh there. BSB BSB: So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.
32 UST Then Samuel said,“Bring the Amalekite king Agag to me.” So they brought Agag to him. They had tied him up as a prisoner. Agag was thinking,“{ Now that Samuel is here,} I am sure that the Israelites are not going to execute me painfully.” BSB BSB: Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agag came to him cheerfully, for he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
33 UST But Samuel said to him,“You have led armies that have killed the sons of many women with their swords. So now your mother will no longer have a son as other women do.” Then Samuel chopped Agag into pieces with his sword. He did that at Gilgal, where the Israelites worshiped Yahweh. BSB BSB: But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.
34 UST Then Samuel left there and returned to his home in Ramah, and Saul went to his home in Gibeah. BSB BSB: Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.
35 UST Samuel never saw Saul again for as long as he lived. He remained very sad that Saul had not been a good king. And Yahweh regretted that he had appointed Saul to be the king of Israel. BSB BSB: And to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
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