Saul’s Family

⁴⁹ Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua.^(A) The name of his older daughter was Merab, and that of the younger was Michal.^{(B) 50} His wife’s name was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of Saul’s army was Abner^(C) son of Ner, and Ner was Saul’s uncle.^{(D) 51} Saul’s father Kish^(E) and Abner’s father Ner were sons of Abiel.

⁵² All the days of Saul there was bitter war with the Philistines, and whenever Saul saw a mighty or brave man, he took^(F) him into his service.

The Lord Rejects Saul as King

15 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint^(G) you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. ² This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites^(H) for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. ³ Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally^(I) destroy^[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

⁴ So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. ⁵ Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. ⁶ Then he said to the Kenites,^(J) “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

⁷ Then Saul attacked the Amalekites^(K) all the way from Havilah to Shur,^(L) near the eastern border of Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag^(M) king of the Amalekites alive,^(N) and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the army spared^(O) Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves^[b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: ¹¹ “I regret^(P) that I have made Saul king, because he has turned^(Q) away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”^(R) Samuel was angry,^(S) and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

¹² Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel.^(T) There he has set up a monument^(U) in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”

¹³ When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

¹⁴ But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

¹⁵ Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

¹⁶ “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” Saul replied.

¹⁷ Samuel said, “Although you were once small^(V) in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. ¹⁸ And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ ¹⁹ Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder^(W) and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

²⁰ “But I did obey^(X) the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. ²¹ The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

²² But Samuel replied:

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned.^(AB) I violated^(AC) the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid^(AD) of the men and so I gave in to them. ²⁵ Now I beg you, forgive^(AE) my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”

²⁶ But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected^(AF) the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!”

²⁷ As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe,^(AG) and it tore.^{(AH) 28} Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn^(AI) the kingdom^(AJ) of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.^{(AK) 29} He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie^(AL) or change^(AM) his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

³⁰ Saul replied, “I have sinned.^(AN) But please honor^(AO) me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³² Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”

Agag came to him in chains.^[c] And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

³³ But Samuel said,

And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.

³⁴ Then Samuel left for Ramah,^(AQ) but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah^(AR) of Saul. ³⁵ Until the day Samuel^(AS) died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned^(AT) for him. And the Lord regretted^(AU) that he had made Saul king over Israel.