1Sa 15, 1Sa 26 | ESV | STEP | 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 .

1 And Samuel said to Saul, ^a“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 have noted what Amalek did to Israel ^bin opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and ^cdevote to destruction ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20, 21} all that they have. Do not spare them, ^ebut 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 men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to ^fthe Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. ^gFor you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 ^hAnd Saul defeated the Amalekites from ⁱHavilah as far as ^jShur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive ^kand devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 ^lBut Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew term is uncertain} and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 ⁿ“I regret ^{▼▼See also verses 29, 35} that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and ^phas not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to ^qCarmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, ^r“Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, ^sfor 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.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

17 And Samuel said, ^t“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, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? ^uWhy did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, ^v“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. 21 ^wBut 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.” 22 And Samuel said,

^x“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, ^yto obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and ^zidolatry.
Because ^aayou have rejected the word of the Lord,
^abhe has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Saul said to Samuel, ^ac“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, please pardon my sin and ^adreturn with me that I may bow before the Lord.” 26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. ^aeFor you have rejected the word of the Lord, ^afand the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 ^agAs Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, ^ah“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. 29 And also the Glory of Israel ^aiwill not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet ^ajhonor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, ^akand return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. ^{▼▼Or haltingly (compare Septuagint); the Hebrew is uncertain} Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, ^am“As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord ^anin Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went ^aoto Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in ^apGibeah of Saul. 35 ^aqAnd Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, ^arbut Samuel grieved over Saul. ^asAnd the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1 Samuel 26

David Spares Saul Again

1 ^atThen the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul arose and went down to ^authe wilderness of Ziph with ^avthree thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, 4 David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. 5 Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with ^awAbner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within ^axthe encampment, while the army was encamped around him.

6 Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother ^ayAbishai the son of Zeruiah, ^az“Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within ^bathe encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground ^bbat his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, ^bc“God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand ^bdagainst the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” 10 And David said, ^be“As the Lord lives, ^bfthe Lord will strike him, or ^bghis day will come to die, ^bhor he will go down into battle and perish. 11 ^biThe Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is ^bjat his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because ^bka deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

13 Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. 14 And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” 15 And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. ^blAs the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was ^bmat his head.”

17 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, ^bn“Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, ^bo“Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? 19 Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, ^bpfor they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in ^bqthe heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek ^bra single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21 Then Saul said, ^bs“I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” 22 And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. 23 ^btThe Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” 25 Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will ^busucceed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.