1 Samuel 15:8-35

8He captured 1Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and 2utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9But Saul and the people 3spared 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 despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

10Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 11“4I regret that I have made Saul king, for 5he has turned back from 6following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and 7cried out to the Lord all night. 12Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to 8Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on 9down to 10Gilgal.” 13Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “11Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” 14But Samuel said, “12What then is this 13bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the 14lowing of the oxen which I hear?” 15Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for 15the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.” 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, 16though 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 17mission, and said, ‘18Go 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, 19but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”

20Then Saul said to Samuel, “20I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the 21mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21But 22the 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, “23Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, 24to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.23For rebellion is as the sin of 25divination, And insubordination is as 26iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, 27He has also rejected you from being king.”

24Then Saul said to Samuel, “28I have sinned; 29I have indeed transgressed the 30command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 25Now therefore, 31please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” 26But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for 32you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27As Samuel turned to go, 33Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28So Samuel said to him, “34The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. 29Also the 3536Glory of Israel 37will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” 30Then he said, “I have sinned; 38but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, 39that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

32Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him 40cheerfully. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33But Samuel said, “41As 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.

34Then Samuel went to 42Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at 43Gibeah of Saul. 3544Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel 45grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.