1 Samuel 15

The Lord Rejects Saul

1 Samuel also said to Saul, a "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD. 2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, b how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. 3 'Now go and c attack 1 Amalek, and d utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.' "

4 So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to e the Kenites, f "Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For g you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 h And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from i Havilah all the way to j Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8 k He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and l utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people m spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

10 Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, 11 n "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has o turned back from following Me, p and has not performed My commandments." And it q grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night. 12 So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul went to r Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal." 13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, s "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD." 14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" 15 And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; t for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed." 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on."

17 So Samuel said, u "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel? 18 "Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are 2 consumed.' 19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the 3 spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?" 20 And Saul said to Samuel, v "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 w "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."

22 So Samuel said:
x "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, y to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of 4 witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
z He also has rejected you from being king."

24 a Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I b feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 "Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD." 26 But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, c for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel." 27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, d Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, e "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 "And also the Strength of Israel f will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent." 30 Then he said, "I have sinned; yet g honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, 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." So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, "Surely the bitterness of death is past." 33 But Samuel said, h "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went to i Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at j Gibeah of Saul. 35 And k Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

  1. Cross References
    1 Samuel 8:11
    And he said, "This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.
  2. Cross References
    1 Samuel 9:16
    "Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me."
    1 Samuel 10:1
    Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: " Is it not because the LORD has anointed you commander over His inheritance?
  3. Cross References
    Exodus 17:8
    Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
    Exodus 17:14
    Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
    Numbers 24:20
    Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said: "Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last until he perishes.
    Deuteronomy 25:17 - 19
    Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt.
  4. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 25:19
    Therefore it shall be, when the LORD your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.
  5. Cross References
    Leviticus 27:28
    Nevertheless no devoted offering that a man may devote to the LORD of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the LORD.
    Leviticus 27:29
    No person under the ban, who may become doomed to destruction among men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death.
    Numbers 24:20
    Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said: "Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last until he perishes.
    Deuteronomy 20:16 - 18
    But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive.
    Joshua 6:17 - 21
    Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
  6. Cross References
    Numbers 24:21
    Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said: "Firm is your dwelling place, And your nest is set in the rock.
    Judges 1:16
    Now the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
    Judges 4:11 - 22
    Now Heber the Kenite, of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent near the terebinth tree at Zaanaim, which is beside Kedesh.
    1 Chronicles 2:55
    And the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Suchathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
  7. Cross References
    Genesis 18:25
    "Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
    Genesis 19:12
    Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city - take them out of this place!
    Genesis 19:14
    So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, "Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
    Revelation 18:4
    And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
  8. Cross References
    Exodus 18:10
    And Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
    Exodus 18:19
    Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.
    Numbers 10:29
    Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.
    Numbers 10:32
    "And it shall be, if you go with us - indeed it shall be - that whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same we will do to you."
  9. Cross References
    1 Samuel 14:48
    And he gathered an army and attacked the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.
  10. Cross References
    Genesis 2:11
    The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
    Genesis 25:17
    These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.
    Genesis 25:18
    (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren.
  11. Cross References
    Genesis 16:7
    Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
    Exodus 15:22
    So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
    1 Samuel 27:8
    And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.
  12. Cross References
    1 Samuel 15:32
    Then Samuel said, "Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me." So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, "Surely the bitterness of death is past.
    1 Samuel 15:33
    But Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
  13. Cross References
    1 Samuel 27:8
    And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.
    1 Samuel 27:9
    Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.
  14. Cross References
    1 Samuel 15:3
    'Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"
    1 Samuel 15:15
    And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
    1 Samuel 15:19
    "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?"
  15. Cross References
    Genesis 6:6
    And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
    Genesis 6:7
    So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.
    1 Samuel 15:35
    And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
    2 Samuel 24:16
    And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "It is enough; now restrain your hand." And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
  16. Cross References
    Joshua 22:16
    Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD: 'What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the LORD?
    1 Kings 9:6
    But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them.
  17. Cross References
    1 Samuel 13:13
    And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
    1 Samuel 15:3
    'Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"
    1 Samuel 15:9
    But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
  18. Cross References
    1 Samuel 15:35
    And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
    1 Samuel 16:1
    Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.
  19. Cross References
    Joshua 15:55
    Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah.
    1 Samuel 25:2
    Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
  20. Cross References
    Genesis 14:19
    And he blessed him and said: Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth.
    Judges 17:2
    And he said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my ears - here is the silver with me; I took it." And his mother said, " May you be blessed by the LORD, my son!
    Ruth 3:10
    Then he said, "Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.
    2 Samuel 2:5
    So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead, and said to them, "You are blessed of the LORD, for you have shown this kindness to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him.
  21. Cross References
    Genesis 3:12
    Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to ...
    Genesis 3:13
    And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is th...
    Exodus 32:22
    So Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord...
    Exodus 32:23
    "For they said to me, 'Make us gods that shall ...
    1 Samuel 15:9
    But Saul and the people spared Agag and the bes...
    1 Samuel 15:21
    "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and ...
    Proverbs 28:13
    He who covers his sins will not prosper, But wh...
  22. Cross References
    1 Samuel 9:21
    And Saul answered and said, " Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?
    1 Samuel 10:22
    Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD answered, "There he is, hidden among the equipment.
  23. Cross References
    1 Samuel 15:13
    Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
    Proverbs 28:13
    He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
  24. Cross References
    1 Samuel 15:15
    And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
  25. Cross References
    Psalms 50:8
    I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices Or yo...
    Psalms 50:9
    I will not take a bull from your house, Nor goa...
    Psalms 51:16
    For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I woul...
    Psalms 51:17
    The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A br...
    Proverbs 21:3
    To do righteousness and justice Is more accepta...
    Isaiah 1:11 - 17
    To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrif...
    Jeremiah 7:22
    For I did not speak to your fathers, or command...
    Jeremiah 7:23
    "But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Ob...
    Micah 6:6 - 8
    With what shall I come before the LORD, And bow...
    Hebrews 10:4 - 10
    For it is not possible that the blood of bulls ...
  26. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 5:1
    Walk prudently when you go to the house of God;...
    Hosea 6:6
    For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the k...
    Matthew 5:24
    Leave your gift there before the altar, and go ...
    Matthew 9:13
    "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire me...
    Matthew 12:7
    But if you had known what this means, 'I desire...
    Mark 12:33
    "And to love Him with all the heart, with all t...
  27. Cross References
    1 Samuel 13:14
    "But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."
    1 Samuel 16:1
    Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.
  28. Cross References
    Numbers 22:34
    And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.
    Joshua 7:20
    And Achan answered Joshua and said, "Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done:
    1 Samuel 26:21
    Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.
    2 Samuel 12:13
    So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
    Psalms 51:4
    Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight - That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
  29. Cross References
    Exodus 23:2
    You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.
    Proverbs 29:25
    The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.
    Isaiah 51:12
    I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?
    Isaiah 51:13
    And you forget the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor?
  30. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:30
    Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: 'I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.
  31. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:30
    Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces.
    1 Kings 11:31
    And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you
  32. Cross References
    1 Samuel 28:17
    And the LORD has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.
    1 Samuel 28:18
    Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you this day.
    1 Kings 11:31
    And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you
  33. Cross References
    Numbers 23:19
    God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
    Ezekiel 24:14
    I, the LORD, have spoken it; It shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, Nor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your deeds They will judge you," Says the Lord GOD.'
    2 Timothy 2:13
    If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
    Titus 1:2
    In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
  34. Cross References
    John 5:44
    How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?
    John 12:43
    For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
  35. Cross References
    Genesis 9:6
    Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
    Numbers 14:45
    Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah.
    Judges 1:7
    And AdoniBe'zek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me." Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
    Matthew 7:2
    For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
  36. Cross References
    1 Samuel 7:17
    But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the LORD.
  37. Cross References
    1 Samuel 11:4
    So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Previous Book Next Book