1 Samuel 15:1-9

New American Standard Bible

Saul’s Disobedience

15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “^(A)The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the ^[a]words of the Lord. ² This is what the Lord of armies says: ‘I will ^[b]punish Amalek ^(B)for what he did to Israel, in that he obstructed him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. ³ Now go and strike Amalek and ^(C)completely destroy everything that he has, and do not spare him; but ^(D)put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

⁴ Then Saul summoned the people and ^[c]counted them in ^(E)Telaim: two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵ And Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ^[d]wadi. ⁶ But Saul said to ^(F)the Kenites, “Go, get away, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you along with them; for ^(G)you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they went up from Egypt.” So the Kenites got away from among the Amalekites. ⁷ Then ^(H)Saul ^[e]defeated the Amalekites, from ^(I)Havilah ^[f]going toward ^(J)Shur, which is ^[g]east of Egypt. ⁸ He captured ^(K)Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and ^(L)completely destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people ^(M)spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the more valuable animals, the lambs, and everything that was good, and were unwilling to destroy them completely; but everything despicable and weak, that they completely destroyed.