Parallel Bible results for "1 samuel 15"

1 Samuel 15

New Revised Standard NRS

1 Samuel said to Saul, "The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord.

2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, "I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.

3 Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.' "

4 So Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers, and ten thousand soldiers of Judah.

5 Saul came to the city of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley.

6 Saul said to the Kenites, "Go! Leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites, or I will destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites.

7 Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.

8 He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

9 Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was valuable, and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.

10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel:

11 "I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not carried out my commands." Samuel was angry; and he cried out to the Lord all night.

12 Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, and Samuel was told, "Saul went to Carmel, where he set up a monument for himself, and on returning he passed on down to Gilgal."

13 When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, "May you be blessed by the Lord; I have carried out the command of the Lord."

14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of cattle that I hear?"

15 Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed."

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night." He replied, "Speak."

17 Samuel said, "Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.

18 And the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, "Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'

19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?"

20 Saul said to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

21 But from the spoil the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal."

22 And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king."

24 Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

25 Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord."

26 Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel."

27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.

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

29 Moreover the Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind."

30 Then Saul said, "I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God."

31 So Samuel turned back after Saul; and Saul worshiped the Lord.

32 Then Samuel said, "Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me." And Agag came to him haltingly. Agag said, "Surely this is the bitterness of death."

33 But Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so your mother shall 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 in Gibeah of Saul.

35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.

The Message Bible MSG

1 Samuel said to Saul, "God sent me to anoint you king over his people, Israel. Now, listen again to what God says.

2 This is the God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaking:

3 Here's what you are to do: Go to war against Amalek. Put everything connected with Amalek under a holy ban. And no exceptions! This is to be total destruction - men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys - the works.'"

4 Saul called the army together at Telaim and prepared them to go to war - two hundred companies of infantry from Israel and another ten companies from Judah.

5 Saul marched to Amalek City and hid in the canyon.

6 Then Saul got word to the Kenites: "Get out of here while you can. Evacuate the city right now or you'll get lumped in with the Amalekites. I'm warning you because you showed real kindness to the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt." And they did. The Kenites evacuated the place.

7 Then Saul went after Amalek, from the canyon all the way to Shur near the Egyptian border.

8 He captured Agag, king of Amalek, alive. Everyone else was killed under the terms of the holy ban.

9 Saul and the army made an exception for Agag, and for the choice sheep and cattle. They didn't include them under the terms of the holy ban. But all the rest, which nobody wanted anyway, they destroyed as decreed by the holy ban.

10 Then God spoke to Samuel:

11 "I'm sorry I ever made Saul king. He's turned his back on me. He refuses to do what I tell him."

12 He got up early in the morning to confront Saul but was told, "Saul's gone. He went to Carmel to set up a victory monument in his own honor, and then was headed for Gilgal." By the time Samuel caught up with him, Saul had just finished an act of worship, having used Amalekite plunder for the burnt offerings sacrificed to God.

13 As Samuel came close, Saul called out, "God's blessings on you! I accomplished God's plan to the letter!"

14 Samuel said, "So what's this I'm hearing - this bleating of sheep, this mooing of cattle?"

15 "Only some Amalekite loot," said Saul. "The soldiers saved back a few of the choice cattle and sheep to offer up in sacrifice to God. But everything else we destroyed under the holy ban."

16 "Enough!" interrupted Samuel. "Let me tell you what God told me last night." Saul said, "Go ahead. Tell me."

17 And Samuel told him. "When you started out in this, you were nothing - and you knew it. Then God put you at the head of Israel - made you king over Israel.

18 Then God sent you off to do a job for him, ordering you, 'Go and put those sinners, the Amalekites, under a holy ban. Go to war against them until you have totally wiped them out.'

19 So why did you not obey God? Why did you grab all this loot? Why, with God's eyes on you all the time, did you brazenly carry out this evil?"

20 Saul defended himself. "What are you talking about? I did obey God. I did the job God set for me. I brought in King Agag and destroyed the Amalekites under the terms of the holy ban.

21 So the soldiers saved back a few choice sheep and cattle from the holy ban for sacrifice to God at Gilgal - what's wrong with that?"

22 Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices - empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production.

23 Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God's command, he says No to your kingship.

24 Saul gave in and confessed, "I've sinned. I've trampled roughshod over God's Word and your instructions. I cared more about pleasing the people. I let them tell me what to do.

25 Oh, absolve me of my sin! Take my hand and lead me to the altar so I can worship God!"

26 But Samuel refused: "No, I can't come alongside you in this. You rejected God's command. Now God has rejected you as king over Israel."

27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed at his priestly robe and a piece tore off.

28 Samuel said, "God has just now torn the kingdom from you, and handed it over to your neighbor, a better man than you are.

29 Israel's God-of-Glory doesn't deceive and he doesn't dither. He says what he means and means what he says."

30 Saul tried again, "I have sinned. But don't abandon me! Support me with your presence before the leaders and the people. Come alongside me as I go back to worship God."

31 Samuel did. He went back with him. And Saul went to his knees before God and worshiped.

32 Then Samuel said, "Present King Agag of Amalek to me." Agag came, dragging his feet, muttering that he'd be better off dead.

33 Samuel said, "Just as your sword made many a woman childless, so your mother will be childless among those women!" And Samuel cut Agag down in the presence of God right there in Gilgal.

34 Samuel left immediately for Ramah and Saul went home to Gibeah.

35 Samuel never laid eyes on Saul again in this life, although he grieved long and deeply over him. But God was sorry he had ever made Saul king in the first place.