1 Samuel 15:10-31

New American Standard Bible

Samuel Rebukes Saul

¹⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹“^(A)I regret that I have made Saul king, because ^(B)he has turned back from ^[a]following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was furious and ^(C)cried out to the Lord all night. ¹²Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was reported to Samuel, saying, “Saul came to ^(D)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on ^[b]down to ^(E)Gilgal.” ¹³So Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “^(F)Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” ¹⁴But Samuel said, “^(G)What then is this ^[c]bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the ^[d]bellowing of the oxen which I hear?” ¹⁵Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for ^(H)the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have completely destroyed.” ¹⁶Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and let me inform you of what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”

¹⁷So Samuel said, “^[e]Is it not true, ^(I)though you were ^[f]insignificant in your own eyes, that you became the head of the tribes of Israel? For the Lord anointed you as king over Israel. ¹⁸And the Lord sent you on a ^[g]mission, and said, ‘^(J)Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are eliminated.’ ¹⁹Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? ^(K)Instead, you loudly rushed upon the spoils and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord!”

²⁰Then Saul said to Samuel, “^(L)I did obey the voice of the Lord, for I went on the ^[h]mission on which the Lord sent me; and I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have completely destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹But ^(M)the people took some of the spoils, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things designated for destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” ²²Samuel said,

“^(N)Does the Lord have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, ^(O)to obey is better than a sacrifice,
And to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
²³For rebellion is as reprehensible as the sin of ^(P)divination,
And insubordination is as reprehensible as ^(Q)false religion and idolatry.
Since you have rejected the word of the Lord,
^(R)He has also rejected you from being king.”

²⁴Then Saul said to Samuel, “^(S)I have sinned, for ^(T)I have violated the ^[i]command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. ²⁵Now then, ^(U)please pardon my sin and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” ²⁶But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for ^(V)you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” ²⁷Then Samuel turned to go, but ^(W)Saul grasped the edge of his robe, and it tore off. ²⁸So Samuel said to him, “^(X)The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. ²⁹Also the ^[j]^(Y)Glory of Israel ^(Z)will not lie nor change His mind; for He is not a man, that He would change His mind.” ³⁰Then Saul said, “I have sinned; ^(AA)but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before all Israel, and go back with me, ^(AB)so that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.