1 Samuel 15:16-24

16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”

17Samuel said, “Is it not true, 1though 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, 18and the Lord sent you on a 2mission, and said, ‘3Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ 19Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, 4but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”

20Then Saul said to Samuel, “5I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the 6mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21But 7the 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.” 22Samuel said, “8Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, 9to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.23For rebellion is as the sin of 10divination, And insubordination is as 11iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, 12He has also rejected you from being king.”

24Then Saul said to Samuel, “13I have sinned; 14I have indeed transgressed the 15command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.