1 Samuel 15:10-20

10 Then came the word of the LORD to Shemu'el, saying,

11 It repents me that I have set up Sha'ul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and has not performed my mitzvot. Shemu'el was angry; and he cried to the LORD all night.

12 Shemu'el rose early to meet Sha'ul in the morning; and it was told Shemu'el, saying, Sha'ul came to Karmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.

13 Shemu'el came to Sha'ul; and Sha'ul said to him, Blessed are you by the LORD: I have performed the mitzvah of the LORD.

14 Shemu'el said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

15 Sha'ul said, They have brought them from the `Amaleki: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

16 Then Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, Stay, and I will tell you what the LORD has said to me this night. He said to him, Say on.

17 Shemu'el said, "Though you were little in your own sight, weren't you made the head of the tribes of Yisra'el? the LORD anointed you king over Yisra'el;

18 and the LORD sent you on a journey, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the `Amaleki, and fight against them until they are consumed.'

19 Why then didn't you obey the voice of the LORD, but flew on the spoil, and did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD?"

20 Sha'ul said to Shemu'el, Yes, 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 `Amaleki.

1 Samuel 15:10-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 15

In this chapter are recorded the order Saul had from the Lord to destroy Amalek utterly, 1Sa 15:1-3 the preparation he made to put it in execution, and the success thereof, 1Sa 15:4-9 the offence the Lord took at his not obeying his order thoroughly, with which Samuel was made acquainted, and which grieved him, 1Sa 15:10,11, upon which he went out to meet Saul, and reprove him; and a long discourse upon the subject passed between them, the issue of which was, that by an irrevocable decree he was rejected from being king, 1Sa 15:12-31 and the chapter is concluded with an account of Samuel's hewing in pieces Agag king of Amalek, and of his final departure from Saul, 1Sa 15:32-35.