Daily Bread

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^(A) 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^(B) and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

²⁰ “But I did obey^(C) 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.^(G) I violated^(H) the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid^(I) of the men and so I gave in to them. ²⁵ Now I beg you, forgive^(J) 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^(K) 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,^(L) and it tore.^{(M) 28} Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn^(N) the kingdom^(O) of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.^{(P) 29} He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie^(Q) or change^(R) his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

³⁰ Saul replied, “I have sinned.^(S) But please honor^(T) 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.^[a] 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,^(V) but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah^(W) of Saul. ³⁵ Until the day Samuel^(X) died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned^(Y) for him. And the Lord regretted^(Z) that he had made Saul king over Israel.