1 SAMUEL also 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 saith the Lord of 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 them 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 Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 And Saul smote the Amalekites 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 came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,
11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved 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 him up a place, 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 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: 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 the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey 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, Yea, 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 chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
24 And 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 obeyed 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 hath 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 hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: 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 said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1Samuel also saide vnto Saul, The Lord sent me to annoint thee to bee king ouer his people, ouer Israel: nowe therefore hearken thou vnto the voyce of the words of the Lord.

2Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way when he came vp from Egypt.

3Now goe, and smite Amalek, and vtterly destroy all that they haue, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, oxe and sheepe, camell and asse.

4And Saul gathered the people together, and numbred them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Iudah.

5And Saul came to a citie of Amalek, and laid waite in the valley.

6 And Saul saide vnto the Kenites, Goe, depart, get you downe from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for yee shewed kindnesse to all the children of Israel when they came vp out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

7And Saul smote the Amalekites from Hauilah, vntill thou commest to Shur, that is ouer against Egypt.

8And hee tooke Agag the king of the Amalekites aliue, and vtterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

9But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheepe, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambes, and all that was good, and would not vtterly destroy them: but euery thing that was vile, and refuse, that they destroyed vtterly.

10 Then came the word of the Lord vnto Samuel, saying;

11It repenteth me that I haue set vp Saul to be king: for hee is turned backe from following me, and hath not performed my commandements. And it grieued Samuel; and he cried vnto the Lord all night.

12And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was tolde Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him vp a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone downe to Gilgal.

13And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said vnto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I haue performed the commandement of the Lord.

14And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheepe in mine eares, and the lowing of the oxen which I heare?

15And Saul sayde, They haue brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheepe, and of the oxen, to sacrifice vnto the Lord thy God, and the rest we haue vtterly destroyed.

16Then Samuel sayd vnto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to mee this night. And he said vnto him, Say on.

17And Samuel said, When thou wast litle in thine owne sight, wast thou not made the Head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee King ouer Israel?

18And the Lord sent thee on a iourney, and said, Goe, and vtterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them, vntill they be consumed.

19Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst flie vpon the spoile, and didst euill in the sight of the Lord ?

20And Saul said vnto Samuel; Yea, I haue obeyed the voice of the Lord, and haue gone the way which the Lord sent me, and haue brought Agag the king of Amalek, and haue vtterly destroyed the Amalekites.

21But the people tooke of the spoile, sheepe and oxen, the chiefe of the things which should haue bene vtterly destroyed, to sacrifice vnto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.

22And Samuel saide, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold, to obey, is better then sacrifice: and to hearken, then the fat of rammes.

23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubburnnesse is as iniquitie and idolatrie: because thou hast reiected the word of the Lord, he hath also reiected thee from being king.

24 And Saul said vnto Samuel, I haue sinned: for I haue transgressed the Commandement of the Lord, and thy wordes; because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

25Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sinne, and turne againe with me, that I may worship the Lord.

26And Samuel said vnto Saul, I will not returne with thee: for thou hast reiected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath reiected thee from being king ouer Israel.

27And as Samuel turned about to goe away, he laid hold vpon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

28And Samuel said vnto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdome of Israel from thee this day, and hath giuen it to a neighbour of thine, that is better then thou.

29And also the strength of Israel will not lie, nor repent: for he is not a man that he should repent.

30Then he said, I haue sinned; yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the Elders of my people, and before Israel, and turne againe with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.

31So Samuel turned againe after Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.

32 Then said Samuel, Bring you hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites: and Agag came vnto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitternesse of death is past.

33And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childlesse, so shall thy mother bee childlesse among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went vp to his house to Gibeah of Saul.

35And Samuel came no more to see Saul vntill the day of his death: neuerthelesse, Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king ouer Israel.

I == 1st Sam 9:16

 

 

II == Ex 17:8 , 14 ; Num 24:20 ; Deut 25:17-19

 

III == Lev 27:28-29 ; Josh 6:17 , 21

 

 

 

 

 

 

VI == Gen 18:25 ; 19:12 , 14 ; Ex 18:10 , 19 ; Num 10:29 , 32 ; 24:21 ; Judg 1:16 ; 4:11 ; Rev 18:4

 

VII == Gen 2:11 ; 16:7 ; 25:18 ; 1st Sam 14:48

VIII == 1st Sam 30:1 ; 1st Kings 20:34-35

 

IX == 1st Sam 15:3 , 15

 

 

 

 

XI == Gen 6:6-7 ; Josh 22:16 ; 1st Sam 13:13 ; 15:3 , 9 , 35 ; 16:1 ; 2nd Sam 24:16 ; 1st Kings 9:6

XII == Josh 15:55

 

 

 

XIII == Gen 14:19 ; Judg 17:2 ; Ruth 3:10

 

 

 

XV == Gen 3:12 ; 1st Sam 15:9 , 21 ; Prov 28:13

 

 

 

 

 

XVII == 1st Sam 9:21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XX == 1st Sam 15:13

 

 

 

XXI == 1st Sam 15:15

 

 

XXII == Ps 50:8-9 ; Prov 21:3 ; Jer 7:22-23 ; Hos 6:6 ; Matt 5:24 ; Mark 12:33

XXIII == 1st Sam 13:14

 

 

XXIV == Ex 23:2 ; 2nd Sam 12:13 ; Prov 29:25 ; Isa 51:12-13

 

 

 

 

XXVI == 1st Sam 2:30

 

XXVII == 1st Kings 11:30

 

XXVIII == 1st Sam 28:17-18 ; 1st Kings 11:31

 

XXIX == Num 23:19 ; Ezek 24:14 ; 2nd Tim 2:13 ; Titus 1:2

XXX == John 5:44 ; 12:43

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXIII == Ex 17:11 ; Num 14:45 ; Judg 1:7

 

 

XXXIV == 1st Sam 11:4

XXXV == 1st Sam 15:11 ; 16:1 ; 19:21

 

 

 

1. Samuel said to Saul: "It was I the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel. Now, therefore, listen to the message of the LORD.

2. This is what the LORD of hosts has to say: 'I will punish what Amalek did to Israel when he barred his way as he was coming up from Egypt.

3 Go, now, attack Amalek, and deal with him and all that he has under the ban. Do not spare him, but kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and asses.'"

4 Saul alerted the soldiers, and at Telaim reviewed two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah.

5 Saul went to the city of Amalek, and after setting an ambush in the wadi,

6 warned the Kenites: "Come! Leave Amalek and withdraw, that I may not have to destroy you with them, for you were kind to the Israelites when they came up from Egypt." After the Kenites left,

7 Saul routed Amalek from Havilah to the approaches of Shur, on the frontier of Egypt.

8 He took Agag, king of Amalek, alive, but on the rest of the people he put into effect the ban of destruction by the sword.

9 He and his troops spared Agag and the best of the fat sheep and oxen, and the lambs. They refused to carry out the doom on anything that was worthwhile, dooming only what was worthless and of no account.

10 Then the LORD spoke to Samuel:

11 "I regret having made Saul king, for he has turned from me and has not kept my command." At this Samuel grew angry and cried out to the LORD all night.

12 Early in the morning he went to meet Saul, but was informed that Saul had gone to Carmel, where he erected a trophy in his own honor, and that on his return he had passed on and gone down to Gilgal.

13 When Samuel came to him, Saul greeted him: "The LORD bless you! I have kept the command of the LORD."

14 But Samuel asked, "What, then, is the meaning of this bleating of sheep that comes to my ears, and the lowing of oxen that I hear?"

15 Saul replied: "They were brought from Amalek. The men spared the best sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the LORD, your God; but we have carried out the ban on the rest."

16 Samuel said to Saul: "Stop! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." "Speak!" he replied.

17 Samuel then said: "Though little in your own esteem, are you not leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king of Israel

18 and sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and put the sinful Amalekites under a ban of destruction. Fight against them until you have exterminated them.'

19 Why then have you disobeyed the LORD? You have pounced on the spoil, thus displeasing the LORD."

20 Saul answered Samuel: "I did indeed obey the LORD and fulfill the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought back Agag, and I have destroyed Amalek under the ban.

21 But from the spoil the men took sheep and oxen, the best of what had been banned, to sacrifice to the LORD their God in Gilgal."

22 But Samuel said: "Does the LORD so delight in holocausts and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams.

23 For a sin like divination is rebellion, and presumption is the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he, too, has rejected you as ruler."

24 Saul replied to Samuel: "I have sinned, for I have disobeyed the command of the LORD and your instructions. In my fear of the people, I did what they said.

25 Now forgive my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD."

26 But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, because you rejected the command of the LORD and the LORD rejects you as king of Israel."

27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized a loose end of his mantle, and it tore off.

28 So Samuel said to him: "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

29 The Glory of Israel neither retracts nor repents, for he is not man that he should repent."

30 But he answered: "I have sinned, yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Return with me that I may worship the LORD your God."

31 And so Samuel returned with him, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

32 Afterward Samuel commanded, "Bring Agag, king of Amalek, to me." Agag came to him struggling and saying, "So it is bitter death!"

33 And Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." Then he cut Agag down before the LORD in Gilgal.

34 Samuel departed for Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.

35 Never again, as long as he lived, did Samuel see Saul. Yet he grieved over Saul, because the LORD regretted having made him king of Israel.

 

v 1-5. The Lord reminds Saul through Samuel of the dastardly deeds of the Amalekites on the relatively defenseless Israelites near Sinai. The Lord had said, Ex. 17:14; Deut. 25:17-19, that He would totally destroy Amalek, and now that time of judgment has come. Saul assembles 210,000 men and lays wait to join them in battle.

v 6. Jethro, Moses father-in-law, was a Kenite, and the Kenites had been good to Israel, so Saul allowed them to leave before the battle began.

v 7-9. Saul and the people started to destroy the Amalekites as bidden, but he  took King Agag prisoner to enhance his own prestige, see v 12, and saved the best of the livestock and other things. This was incomplete obedience, see v3.

v 10-12. The Lord knew before the foundation of the earth what Saul would do, but He was still grieved that Saul was rebellious and disobedient. Samuel grieved. Saul’s pride in v 8,9 is seen by the monument he built for himself near Carmel.

v 13. Saul expected praise, by now not even realizing his disobedience.

v 14,15. Samuel’s reply was sharp and convicting, but Saul merely laid the blame on the people for saving the best animals for sacrifice to Samuel’s God.

v 16.-19. Samuel reminds Saul of his early meekness, thinking of when he was anointed and when he hid in the baggage. Now, why has he rebelled against God?

v 20,21. Saul claims obedience in capturing Agag and destroying his people, and again blames the people for saving the good animals for sacrifice to Samuel’s God.

v 22,23. Samuel pulls no punches in placing obedience above sacrifice, and equates rebellion to witchcraft, stubbornness to idolatry, plus Saul’s rejection as king.

v 24,25. Saul’s confession of sin is no confession, because he again blames the people. His worship with Samuel would have been a mere semblance of religion.

v 26-29. Samuel was not taken in by Saul’s plea, and when he turned to leave, Saul tried to stop him by grabbing his garment. This amounted to an act of violence, and Samuel calls it a symbol that his kingdom was being torn from him. The Strength of Israel is of course the Lord, and He does not repent, though as in verse 11 and 35, He is grieved that people make the wrong choices. God knew before Saul was ever made king that one day David would replace him, though that didn’t happen for another 15 years. The people still accepted him as king, but God had rejected him.

v 30,31. Saul’s plea for Samuel to worship with him is merely to save face with the people. He still refers to Samuel’s God rather than his own personal God. Samuel did turn and worship with Saul one more time out of respect for his position as king.

v 32,33. What Saul failed to do, Samuel did. Ignoring Agag’s smiling entreaty, he chopped Agag in pieces as Agag had done others, possibly even some Israelites.

v 34-35. Saul and Samuel went their separate ways and were never together again. Saul may have been shamed and chose to shun Samuel, but Samuel mourned for Saul, who had such great potential and lost it. Again this speaks of the Lord’s grief at Saul’s response. The Lord knew all along and did not change His mind.