1 And Samuel said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel; now, therefore, hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 2 Thus hath said the LORD of the hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have and spare him not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
4 And Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek and laid wait in the valley. 6 And Saul said unto the Kenite, Go, depart, go out from among those of Amalek lest I destroy you with them, for ye showed mercy to all the sons of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenite departed from among those of Amalek. 7 And Saul smote Amalek from Havilah until thou comest to Shur that is over against Egypt. 8 And he took 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 and of the oxen and of the fatlings and the lambs and all that was good and would not utterly destroy them, but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
10 Then the word of the LORD came unto Samuel, saying, 11 It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments. And it incensed Samuel, and he cried unto the LORD all night. 12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set himself up a monument and is gone about and passed on and gone down to Gilgal. 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD; I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 14 Then Samuel said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from Amalek, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God, and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners of Amalek and fight against them until they are consumed. 19 Why then didst thou not hear the voice of the LORD but didst fly upon the spoil and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD and have gone the way which the LORD sent me and have brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the firstfruits of the anathema, to sacrifice them unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Does the LORD have as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in hearing the voice of the LORD? Behold, to hear is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is the sin of witchcraft, and to break the word of the Lord is iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected thee from being king.
24 Then Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and thy words because I feared the people and consented unto their voice. 25 Now, therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin and turn again with me that I may worship the LORD. 26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD has rent the kingdom of Israel from thee today and has given it to a neighbour of thine that is better than thou. 29 And also the Overcomer of Israel will not lie nor repent concerning this, for he is not a man, that he should repent. 30 Then he said, I have sinned; yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people and before Israel and turn again with me that I may worship the LORD thy God. 31 So Samuel turned again after Saul, and Saul worshipped the LORD.
32 Then Samuel said, Bring me Agag, the king of Amalek. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is near. 33 And Samuel said, As thy sword has made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. Then Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; nevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul because the LORD had repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.