1 Then Samuel said to Saul: It was I whom sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel, and now listen to the voice of the words of .
2 This is what of armies has said, 'I must call to account what Amalek did to Israel when he set himself against him in the way while he was coming up out of Egypt.
3 Now go, and you must strike down Amalek and devote him to destruction with all that he has, and you must not have compassion upon him, and you must put them to death, man as well as woman, child as well as suckling, bull as well as sheep, camel as well as ass.'
4 Accordingly Saul summoned the people and took the count of them in Telaim [lambs], 200,000 men on foot and 10,000 men of Judah.
5 And Saul proceeded to come as far as the city of Amalek and to lie in ambush by the torrent valley.
6 Meanwhile Saul said to the Kenites: Go depart, go down from the midst of the Amalekites, that I may not sweep you away with them. As for you, you exercised loving-kindness with all the sons of Israel at the time of their coming up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from the midst of Amalek.
7 After that Saul went striking down Amalek from Havilah as far as Shur, which is in front of Egypt.
8 And he got to catch Agag,
king of Amalek,
alive, and all the other people he devoted to destruction with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people had compassion upon Agag and upon the best of the flock and the herd and the fat ones and upon the rams and upon all that was good, and they did not wish to devote them to destruction. As for all the goods that were despicable and rejected, these they devoted to destruction.
10 The word of now came to Samuel,
saying:
11 I do regret that I have caused Saul to reign as king, because he has turned back from following me, and my words he has not carried out. And it was distressing to Samuel, and he kept crying out to all night long.
12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul in the morning. But report was made to Samuel, saying: Saul came to Carmel, and,
look! he was erecting a monument for himself, and he then turned around and went across and descended to Gilgal.
13 At length Samuel came to Saul, and Saul began to say to him: Blessed are you of . I have carried out the word of .
14 But Samuel said: Then what does this sound of the flock in my ears mean, and the sound of the herd that I am hearing?
15 To this Saul said: From the Amalekites they have brought them, because the people had compassion upon the best of the flock and of the herd, for the purpose of sacrificing to your God; but what was left over we have devoted to destruction.
16 At this Samuel said to Saul: Stop! And I will tell you what spoke to me last night. So he said to him: Speak!
17 And Samuel went on to say: Was it not when you were little in your own eyes that you were head of the tribes of Israel, and proceeded to anoint you as king over Israel?
18 Later sent you on a mission and said, 'Go, and you must devote the sinners, the Amalekites, to destruction, and you must fight against them until you will have exterminated them.'
19 So why is it you did not obey the voice of but went darting greedily at the spoil and doing what was bad in the eyes of ?
20 However, Saul said to Samuel: But I have obeyed the voice of in that I went on the mission on which had sent me and I brought Agag the king of Amalek, but Amalek I have devoted to destruction.
21 And the people went taking from the spoil sheep and cattle, the choicest of them as something devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to your God in Gilgal.
22 In turn Samuel said: Does have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of ? Look! To obey is better than a sacrifice, to pay attention than the fat of rams;
23 for rebelliousness is the same as the sin of divination, and pushing ahead presumptuously the same as [using] uncanny power and teraphim [Saul chose to listen to his wife, his subjects, rather than his God. He became a democrat rather than a theocrat. And would have incited the people to disobey the word of God. So Saul was actually worshipping an unclean spirit]. Since you have rejected the word of , he accordingly rejects you from being king.
24 Then Saul said to Samuel: I have sinned;
for I have overstepped the order of and your words, because I feared the people and so obeyed their voice.
25 And now, please, pardon my sin and return with me that I may prostrate myself to .
26 But Samuel said to Saul: I shall not return with you, for you have rejected the word of , and rejects you from continuing as king over Israel.
27 As Samuel was turning about to go, he immediately grabbed hold of the skirt of his sleeveless coat, but it ripped away.
28 At this Samuel said to him: has ripped away the royal rule of Israel from off you today, and he will certainly give it to a fellowman of yours who is better than you.
29 And, besides, the Excellency of Israel will not prove false, and He will not feel regrets/repentant, for He is not an earthling man so as to feel regrets/repentant.
30 At this he said: I have sinned. Now honor me, please, in front of the older men of my people and in front of Israel and return with me, and I shall certainly prostrate myself to your God.
31 So Samuel returned behind Saul, and Saul proceeded to prostrate himself to .
32 After that Samuel said: Bring Agag the king of Amalek near to me. Then Agag went to him reluctantly, and Agag began to say to himself: Truly the bitter experience of death has departed.
33 However, Samuel said: Just as your sword has bereaved women of children, in that way your mother will be most bereaved of children among women. With that Samuel went hacking Agag to pieces before in Gilgal.
34 Samuel now went his way to Ramah, and Saul, for his part, went up to his own house at Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, because Samuel had gone into mourning for Saul. As for , he regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel (1 Samuel 15).