1 Samuel 15:1-35 GNT

[1] Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one whom the LORD sent to anoint you king of his people Israel. Now listen to what the LORD Almighty says. [2] He is going to punish the people of Amalek because their ancestors opposed the Israelites when they were coming from Egypt. [3] Go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Don't leave a thing; kill all the men, women, children, and babies; the cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys." [4] Saul called his forces together and inspected them at Telem: there were 200,000 soldiers from Israel and 10,000 from Judah. [5] Then he and his men went to the city of Amalek and waited in ambush in a dry riverbed. [6] He sent a warning to the Kenites, a people whose ancestors had been kind to the Israelites when they came from Egypt: "Go away and leave the Amalekites, so that I won't kill you along with them." So the Kenites left. [7] Saul defeated the Amalekites, fighting all the way from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt; [8] he captured King Agag of Amalek alive and killed all the people. [9] But Saul and his men spared Agag's life and did not kill the best sheep and cattle, the best calves and lambs, or anything else that was good; they destroyed only what was useless or worthless. [10] The LORD said to Samuel, [11] "I am sorry that I made Saul king; he has turned away from me and disobeyed my commands." Samuel was angry, and all night long he pleaded with the LORD. [12] Early the following morning he went off to find Saul. He heard that Saul had gone to the town of Carmel, where he had built a monument to himself, and then had gone on to Gilgal. [13] Samuel went up to Saul, who greeted him, saying, "The LORD bless you, Samuel! I have obeyed the LORD's command." [14] Samuel asked, "Why, then, do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?" [15] Saul answered, "My men took them from the Amalekites. They kept the best sheep and cattle to offer as a sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have destroyed completely." [16] "Stop," Samuel ordered, "and I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." "Tell me," Saul said. [17] Samuel answered, "Even though you consider yourself of no importance, you are the leader of the tribes of Israel. The LORD anointed you king of Israel, [18] and he sent you out with orders to destroy those wicked people of Amalek. He told you to fight until you had killed them all. [19] Why, then, did you not obey him? Why did you rush to grab the loot, and so do what displeases the LORD?" [20] "I did obey the LORD," Saul replied. "I went out as he told me to, brought back King Agag, and killed all the Amalekites. [21] But my men did not kill the best sheep and cattle that they captured; instead, they brought them here to Gilgal to offer as a sacrifice to the LORD your God." [22] Samuel said, "Which does the LORD prefer: obedience or offerings and sacrifices? It is better to obey him than to sacrifice the best sheep to him. [23] Rebellion against him is as bad as witchcraft, and arrogance is as sinful as idolatry. Because you rejected the LORD's command, he has rejected you as king." [24] "Yes, I have sinned," Saul replied. "I disobeyed the LORD's command and your instructions. I was afraid of my men and did what they wanted. [25] But now I beg you, forgive my sin and go back with me, so that I can worship the LORD." [26] "I will not go back with you," Samuel answered. "You rejected the LORD's command, and he has rejected you as king of Israel." [27] Then Samuel turned to leave, but Saul caught hold of his cloak, and it tore. [28] Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today and given it to someone who is a better man than you. [29] Israel's majestic God does not lie or change his mind. He is not a human being-he does not change his mind." [30] "I have sinned," Saul replied. "But at least show me respect in front of the leaders of my people and all of Israel. Go back with me so that I can worship the LORD your God." [31] So Samuel went back with him, and Saul worshiped the LORD. [32] "Bring King Agag here to me," Samuel ordered. Agag came to him, trembling with fear, thinking to himself, "What a bitter thing it is to die!" [33] Samuel said, "As your sword has made many mothers childless, so now your mother will become childless." And he cut Agag to pieces in front of the altar in Gilgal. [34] Then Samuel went to Ramah, and King Saul went home to Gibeah. [35] As long as Samuel lived, he never again saw the king; but he grieved over him. The LORD was sorry that he had made Saul king of Israel.