1 Samuel 15:11-23
New English Translation
11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, “Saul has gone to Carmel where[a] he is setting up a monument for himself.” Then Samuel left[b] and went down to Gilgal.[c] 13 When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “May the Lord bless you! I have fulfilled the Lord’s orders.”[d]
14 Samuel replied, “If that is the case,[e] then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They were brought[f] from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered.”
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute![g] Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul[h] said to him, “Tell me.” 17 Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose[i] you as king over Israel. 18 The Lord sent you on a campaign[j] saying, ‘Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you[k] have destroyed them.’ 19 Why haven’t you obeyed[l] the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord’s estimation.”[m]
20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed[n] the Lord! I went on the campaign[o] the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. 21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle—the best of what was to be slaughtered—to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22 Then Samuel said,
“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as he does in obedience?[p]
Certainly,[q] obedience[r] is better than sacrifice;
paying attention is better than[s] the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the Lord’s orders,[t]
he has rejected you from being king.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 15:12 tn Heb “and look.”
- 1 Samuel 15:12 tn Heb “and he turned and crossed over.” Some translations assume that the quotation continues and that “he” is Saul. The wording of the LXX, “he went down to Gilgal to Saul” assumes that Samuel is the subject and that the quotation has ended.tc The LXX also has “he returned the chariot” or “the chariot returned” before “he went down.” Again this may or may not be part of the quotation.
- 1 Samuel 15:12 tc At the end of v. 12 the LXX and one Old Latin ms include the following words not found in the MT: “to Saul. And behold, he was offering as a burnt offering to the Lord the best of the spoils that he had brought from the Amalekites.” The Lucianic Greek translation does not include this text.
- 1 Samuel 15:13 tn Or “message, word.”
- 1 Samuel 15:14 tn The words “if that is the case” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- 1 Samuel 15:15 tn Heb “they brought them.”
- 1 Samuel 15:16 tn Or perhaps “be quiet.”
- 1 Samuel 15:16 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the singular (“he said”) rather than the plural (“they said”) of the Kethib.tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Samuel 15:17 tn Heb “anointed.”
- 1 Samuel 15:18 tn Heb “journey.”
- 1 Samuel 15:18 tc The translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum in reading the second person singular suffix (“you”) rather than the third person plural suffix of the MT (“they”).
- 1 Samuel 15:19 tn Heb “listened to the voice of the Lord.”
- 1 Samuel 15:19 tn Heb “you have done what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
- 1 Samuel 15:20 tn Heb “listened to the voice of the Lord.”
- 1 Samuel 15:20 tn Heb “journey.”
- 1 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”
- 1 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “look.”
- 1 Samuel 15:22 tn Heb “listening.”
- 1 Samuel 15:22 tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).
- 1 Samuel 15:23 tn Or “message, word.”
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