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1 Samuel 15

And 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.

Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt.

Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

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

And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley.

Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

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

And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.

But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

The word of the LORD came to Samuel:

“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night.

And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.”

And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”

And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”

Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, 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 devoted to destruction.”

Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

And 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.

And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’

Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?”

And 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 devoted the Amalekites to destruction.

But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.”

And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.”

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.

Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the LORD.”

And 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.”

As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore.

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

And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”

Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the LORD your God.”

So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the LORD.

Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.

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

Scripture quotations marked “ESV” are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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1 Samuel 15

Samuel commands Saul to go to war against Amalek and 'completely destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them...destroy them' (15:3)—a total ban (ḥērem) that Saul executes incompletely, sparing Agag (the Amalekite king) and the best livestock 'as an offering to the LORD' (15:15, Saul's rationalization). Samuel confronts Saul: 'Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice' (15:22)—a condemnation of ritual obedience without moral and covenantal integrity, and a declaration that Saul's kingship is ended: 'The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you' (15:28). Saul's disobedience—his refusal to execute the ban completely and his substitution of ritual sacrifice for covenant obedience—demonstrates the futility of human kingship when divorced from wholehearted submission to the divine word; Samuel hacks Agag to pieces (15:33) to complete the ban Saul neglected, and departs from Saul, never to see him again. The chapter marks the rupture between the LORD and Saul's dynasty, and though Saul retains the throne, his authority is fatally compromised.

1 Samuel 15:1

Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the LORD — Samuel reminds Saul of his divine appointment as king and calls him to obedience ('shmor el kol asher yomer YHWH, listen to all that the LORD says').

1 Samuel 15:2

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt — God through Samuel recalls Amalek's ancient attack on Israel during the wilderness journey (cf. Exodus 17; Deuteronomy 25:17-19). The word 'laid wait' ('asher satahu) suggests ambush or treachery.

1 Samuel 15:3

Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass — God commands total destruction ('ḥerem, destruction, the devoted thing'). The command is absolute and without exception: all living creatures are to be destroyed. This is the practice of ḥerem, the holy ban, in which the enemy is devoted to destruction as an offering to God.

1 Samuel 15:4

And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah — Saul mobilizes a massive army: 200,000 from Israel and 10,000 from Judah.

1 Samuel 15:5

And Saul came to a city of the Amalekites, and laid wait in the valley — Saul approaches the Amalekite city and sets an ambush in the valley.

1 Samuel 15:6

And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt — Saul allows the Kenites (who had shown friendship to Israel) to escape, showing that he discriminates among people based on prior relationships. This is the only exception to the command for total destruction.

1 Samuel 15:7

And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, even over against Egypt — Saul's military campaign extends across Amalekite territory from Havilah to Shur (the border region near Egypt).

1 Samuel 15:8

And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword — Saul defeats the Amalekites but captures Agag (the king) alive rather than executing him. This is a direct violation of the ḥerem command. and all the people utterly destroyed — the soldiers, however, comply with the command regarding the common people.

1 Samuel 15:9

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them — despite the command for total destruction, Saul and the army preserve the best livestock (sheep, oxen, fat animals, lambs). This is a clear violation of the ḥerem. and all that was vile and refuse, they destroyed utterly — only the worthless animals are destroyed. The soldiers prioritize economic gain over obedience.

1 Samuel 15:10

Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king — God expresses regret ('naham, to repent or grieve') at having appointed Saul. The term 'repent' ('naham) is used anthropomorphically to describe God's changed disposition toward Saul. for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments — Saul has failed to obey God's explicit command regarding the ḥerem.

1 Samuel 15:11

And it grieved Samuel: and he cried unto the LORD all night — Samuel is deeply distressed by God's judgment against Saul. He intercedes through prayer throughout the night. The text emphasizes Samuel's emotional investment in Saul's obedience.

1 Samuel 15:12

And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on down to Gilgal — Saul has come to Carmel (a place name, not Mount Carmel) and erected a monument ('natzav lo yad, he set up a hand/monument'). The monument may be an act of self-glorification.

1 Samuel 15:13

And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD — Saul greets Samuel falsely claiming complete obedience ('asiti et divrat YHWH, I have performed the word of the LORD').

1 Samuel 15:14

And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the cattle which I hear? — Samuel's question is a direct confrontation. The sound of living sheep and cattle contradicts Saul's claim of total destruction.

1 Samuel 15:15

And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God — Saul deflects responsibility to the people ('am), claiming the animals were spared to sacrifice to the LORD. This attempt to reframe the violation as religious zeal is transparent.

1 Samuel 15:16

Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night — Samuel demands Saul's attention to hear God's judgment.

1 Samuel 15:17

And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? — Samuel reminds Saul of his humble origins and his divine appointment. The phrase 'when thou wast little in thine own sight' ('ki katan-ta b'ayneycha) recalls Saul's earlier humility (9:21). The contrast between his past humility and present disobedience is stark.

1 Samuel 15:18

And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed — Samuel rehearses God's explicit command.

1 Samuel 15:19

Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? — Samuel's accusation is direct: Saul has disobeyed God and done 'evil' (ra'a) in God's sight. The phrase 'fly upon the spoil' ('nifhatzta el hashallal) suggests greed and plunder as the motive.

1 Samuel 15:20

And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, 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 — Saul continues to claim obedience, and brings up Agag as evidence of his supposed success.

1 Samuel 15:21

But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal — Again Saul blames the people, but his claim that they intended sacrifice is less convincing given the scale and quality of what was kept.

1 Samuel 15:22

And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? — This verse contains one of the most profound statements in the Hebrew Bible. Samuel poses a rhetorical question: does God take greater delight in sacrifices or in obedience? The implicit answer is obedience. Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice — the dictum 'shoma' tov mizzevaḥ' (to hear/obey is better than sacrifice) establishes the priority of moral obedience over ritual performance. This statement challenges any assumption that ritual can substitute for obedience.

1 Samuel 15:23

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry — Samuel equates Saul's disobedience with grave sins: rebellion ('marad) is compared to witchcraft ('qesem), and stubbornness ('perudim, breaking or dividing) to idolatry ('awen). The comparison elevates disobedience to the level of spiritual transgression. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king — because Saul has 'rejected' (ma'asta, spurned) God's word, God has 'rejected' him from the kingship. The parallelism is exact: Saul's rejection of God's word brings God's rejection of Saul.

1 Samuel 15:24

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words — Saul finally admits his transgression ('chatati, I have sinned'; 'asharti, I have transgressed'). His confession, though late, shows some recognition of wrongdoing. because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice — Saul's reason for disobedience: he 'feared' (yara') the people and 'obeyed' (shamati) their voice rather than God's. The confession reveals a fundamental failure of leadership—Saul was swayed by popular opinion rather than standing firm on divine command.

1 Samuel 15:25

Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD — Saul appeals to Samuel for forgiveness and asks Samuel to return with him to worship.

1 Samuel 15:26

And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel — Samuel refuses to accompany Saul back to worship. His refusal symbolizes the rupture between Saul and the prophetic office, and ultimately between Saul and God.

1 Samuel 15:27

And as Samuel turned about to go away, Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent — in desperation, Saul grasps Samuel's garment, and it tears. The torn mantle becomes a sign.

1 Samuel 15:28

And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou — Samuel interprets the torn garment as a symbol: God has 'rent' (qara') the kingdom from Saul and given it to 'a neighbor of yours that is better than you' ('le'reacha hatob mimkha'). This refers to David, who will be chosen as king.

1 Samuel 15:29

And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent — Samuel affirms God's steadfastness ('netzach, strength or eternity'). God 'will not lie' ('lo yeshaqer) or 'repent' ('lo yinnahem). This verse clarifies that while God's attitude toward Saul has changed, God's character and truthfulness are absolute.

1 Samuel 15:30

Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel — Saul makes a final appeal to Samuel: though he has sinned, he asks for honor ('kabed) before the people and elders. The request shows Saul's concern for his public image. and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God — the appeal for Samuel to return focuses on maintaining public appearance.

1 Samuel 15:31

So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD — Samuel returns, and Saul performs worship.

1 Samuel 15:32

Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately — Agag is brought before Samuel. The word 'delicately' ('betanom, with confidence or pride) suggests Agag approaches expecting mercy.

1 Samuel 15:33

And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal — Samuel pronounces a judgment: as Agag's sword caused bereavement, his mother will be bereaved. Samuel then executes Agag ('vayeshatsaf et Agag, he hewed/divided him'), fulfilling the ḥerem that Saul had failed to complete.

1 Samuel 15:34

Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul — Samuel and Saul separate. Samuel returns to his home in Ramah; Saul goes to his house at Gibeah. The geographical separation reflects their spiritual separation.

1 Samuel 15:35

And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel — Samuel does not visit Saul again until his death. Yet Samuel 'mourned' ('nitnahem) for Saul, showing continued affection despite judgment. The statement that 'the LORD repented that he had made Saul king' ('va-yinnahem YHWH ki-holik et Sha'ul l'melekh) expresses God's deep grief at Saul's failure.