⁸ Agag was the king of the Amalekites. Saul captured Agag alive. Saul let Agag live, but he killed all the men in Agag’s army. ⁹ Saul and the Israelite soldiers felt bad about destroying everything. So they let Agag live. They also kept the fat cattle, the best sheep, and the lambs. They kept everything that was worth keeping. They didn’t want to destroy those things. They destroyed only what was not worth keeping.

Samuel Tells Saul About His Sin

¹⁰ Then Samuel received this message from the Lord: ¹¹ “Saul has stopped following me, so I am sorry that I made him king. He is not doing what I tell him.” Samuel became angry and cried to the Lord all night.

¹² Samuel got up early the next morning and went to meet Saul. But the people told Samuel, “Saul went to Carmel. He went there to set up a stone monument to honor himself. Then he left there and went down to Gilgal.”

So Samuel went to Saul. Saul had just offered the first part of the things he took from the Amalekites as a burnt offering to the Lord.^{[a] 13} When Samuel came near to Saul, Saul greeted him and said, “The Lord bless you! I have obeyed the Lord’s commands.”

¹⁴ But Samuel said, “Then what is that sound I hear? Why do I hear sheep and cattle?”

¹⁵ Saul said, “The soldiers took them from the Amalekites. They saved the best sheep and cattle to burn as sacrifices to the Lord your God. But we destroyed everything else.”

¹⁶ Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord told me last night.”

Saul answered, “Tell me what he said.”

¹⁷ Samuel said, “In the past you didn’t think that you were important, but the Lord chose you to be the king. So you became the leader of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ The Lord sent you on a special mission. He said, ‘Go and destroy all the Amalekites. They are evil people. Destroy them all! Fight them until they are completely finished.’ ¹⁹ So why didn’t you listen to the Lord? You did what the Lord said is wrong because you wanted to keep what you took in battle.”

²⁰ Saul said, “But I did obey the Lord! I went where the Lord sent me. I destroyed all the Amalekites. I brought back only one—their king Agag. ²¹ And the soldiers took the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

²² But Samuel answered, “Which pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obeying his commands? It is better to obey the Lord than to offer sacrifices to him. It is better to listen to him than to offer the fat from rams. ²³ Refusing to obey is as bad as the sin of sorcery. Being stubborn and doing what you want is like the sin of worshiping idols. You refused to obey the Lord’s command, so he now refuses to accept you as king.”