Awurade Po Saulo Sɛ Ɔhene
1Da bi Samuel ka kyerɛɛ Saulo se, “Me na Awurade somaa me sɛ memmɛsra wo ngo sɛ Israel ɔhene. Afei tie nkra a efi Awurade nkyɛn no. 2Asɛm a Asafo Awurade se ni, ‘Me ne Amalekfo bedi wɔ nea wɔyɛ de tiaa Israelfo bere a na wofi Misraim reba no ho. 3Enti kɔ na kɔsɛe Amalek mantam no pasaa. Kunkum mmarima ne mmea, mmofra ne nkokoaa, anantwi ne nguan, yoma ne mfurum.’ ”
4Enti Saulo frɛɛ nʼakofo boaa wɔn ano wɔ Telaim. Na wɔn dodow yɛ mpem ahannu ne mpem du nso a wofi Yuda. 5Saulo kɔɔ Amalek kuropɔn no mu, kɔtɛw obon no mu. 6Na ɔkraa Kenifo no se, “Mumfi nea Amalekfo no te hɔ na mansɛe mo ne wɔn, efisɛ Israelfo no fi Misraim reba no, mo ne wɔn dii no yiye.” Enti Kenifo no twee wɔn ho fi Amalekfo no ho.
7Na Saulo kunkum Amalekfo no fii Hawila kosii Sur wɔ Misraim apuei fam. 8Ɔkyeree Amalekfo hene Agag anikann, nanso okunkum nnipa no nyinaa. 9Na Saulo ne nʼakofo no anyɛ Agag bɔne biara, na mmom wɔfaa wɔn nguan pa, anantwi pa ne anantwi ne nguamma a wɔadodɔ srade ne biribiara a wɔn ani gye ho. Wɔsɛee nea so nni wɔn mfaso na enni mu nyinaa.
Awurade Po Saulo
10Na Awurade ka kyerɛɛ Samuel se, 11“Manu me ho sɛ masi Saulo ɔhene, efisɛ wanni me nokware, na afei wayɛ nʼadwene sɛ ɔrentie mʼasɛm.” Asɛm no haw Samuel, na osu frɛɛ Awurade anadwo mu no nyinaa.
12Ade kyee no, Samuel sɔree ntɛm kohyiaa Saulo, nanso obi ka kyerɛɛ no se, “Saulo kɔɔ Karmel sɛ ɔrekosi nkaedum de ahyɛ ne ho anuonyam, na ofii hɔ kɔɔ Gilgal.”
13Samuel kɔtoo no no, Saulo kyiaa no anigye so se, “Awurade nhyira wo. Madi Awurade ahyɛde no so.”
14Samuel bisae se, “Na dɛn ne nguan ne anantwi su a mete yi?”
15Saulo gye too mu se, “Ɛyɛ nokware sɛ asraafo no amfa wɔn nsa anka nguan pa ne anantwi pa no. Nanso wɔde eyi rebɛbɔ afɔre ama Awurade, wo Nyankopɔn. Biribiara a ɛka ho no de, yɛasɛe no.”
16Afei, Samuel ka kyerɛɛ Saulo se, “Gyae! Tie asɛm a Awurade ka kyerɛɛ me anadwo a atwa mu yi.”
Saulo bisaa se, “Dɛn asɛm?”
17Samuel ka kyerɛɛ no se, “Ebia wubu wo ho abomfiaa, nanso ɛnyɛ wo na wudii Israel mmusuakuw nyinaa so no? Awurade asra wo ngo sɛ ɔhene wɔ Israel so. 18Na ɔsomaa wo sɛ kodi dwuma bi ma no, na osee wo sɛ, ‘Kɔ na kɔsɛe amumɔyɛfo a ɛyɛ Amalekfo no pasapasa, kosi sɛ mobɛtɔre wɔn ase dwerɛbee.’ 19Adɛn nti na woantie Awurade? Adɛn nti na mopere fom nneɛma, na moyɛɛ nea Awurade kaa se monnyɛ?”
20Saulo nso kaa no denneennen se, “Mitiee Awurade. Nea ɔkyerɛɛ me sɛ menyɛ no, meyɛe. Mede ɔhene Agag san bae. Na wɔn a aka no de, mesɛee wɔn nyinaa. 21Na mʼakofo no nso de nguan pa, anantwi pa ne asade bae sɛ wɔde rebɛbɔ afɔre ama Awurade, wo Nyankopɔn wɔ Gilgal.”
22Na Samuel buae se,
“Nea ɛwɔ he na ɛsɔ Awurade ani:
sɛ wobɛbɔ ɔhyew afɔre ne okum afɔre,
anaasɛ wobɛyɛ osetie ama Awurade nne?
Osetie ye sen afɔrebɔ.
Sɛ wubetie no no ye sen sɛ wode adwennini akɛse srade bɛma.
23Atuatew te sɛ bayi,
na asoɔden nso te sɛ ahonisom.
Esiane sɛ woapo Awurade asɛm no nti,
ɔno nso apo wʼahenni.”
Saulo Srɛ Bɔnefakyɛ
24Na Saulo ka kyerɛɛ Samuel se, “Mayɛ bɔne. Manni Awurade ahyɛde ne wo nkyerɛkyerɛ so. Na misuro nnipa no nti na meyɛɛ wɔn apɛde maa wɔn no. 25Enti mesrɛ wo, fa me bɔne kyɛ me na wo ne me nkɔsom Awurade.”
26Samuel ka kyerɛɛ no se, “Merensan ne wo nkɔ. Woapo Awurade ahyɛde enti Awurade nso apo wʼahenni!”
27Samuel yɛɛ sɛ ɔrekɔ no, Saulo soo nʼatade mu pɛɛ sɛ ɔsan no, na atade no mu suanee. 28Samuel ka kyerɛɛ no se, “Hwɛ efi nnɛ, Awurade atew Israel ahemman mu afi wo ho de ama obi foforo a oye sen wo. 29Nea ɔyɛ Israel Anuonyam no nni atoro na ɔnsesa nʼadwene; efisɛ ɔnyɛ onipa na wasesa nʼadwene.”
30Saulo srɛɛ bio se, “Minim sɛ mayɛ bɔne. Na mesrɛ wo sɛ, hyɛ me anuonyam wɔ me mpanyimfo ne me nkurɔfo anim; wo ne me nkɔsom Awurade, wo Nyankopɔn.” 31Enti Samuel pene ne Saulo san kɔe, na Saulo som Awurade.
Samuel Kum Ɔhene Agag
32Afei, Samuel kaa se, “Fa ɔhene Agag brɛ me.”
Agag baa ne nkyɛn gyidi mu, susuw sɛ ɛhɔ a wakɔ no de, owu apare no.
33Nanso Samuel kae se,
“Sɛnea wʼafoa akum mmea bi mmabarima no,
wo nso wo na bɛyɛ ɔbea a onni ba.”
Enti Samuel twitwaa Agag mu nketenkete Awurade anim wɔ Gilgal.
34Na Samuel fi hɔ kɔɔ Rama na Saulo nso kɔɔ ne fi wɔ Gibea. 35Samuel anhyia Saulo bio nanso odii ne ho yaw bebree. Na Awurade nuu ne ho sɛ osii Saulo hene wɔ Israel so.
The Lord rejects Saul as king
1Samuel said to Saul, ‘I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy15:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20 and 21. all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” ’
4So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim – two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. 5Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. 6Then he said to the Kenites, ‘Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.’ So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
7Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. 8He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves15:9 Or the grown bulls; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. and lambs – everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.
10Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11‘I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.’ Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
12Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, ‘Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honour and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.’
13When Samuel reached him, Saul said, ‘The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.’
14But Samuel said, ‘What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?’
15Saul answered, ‘The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.’
16‘Enough!’ Samuel said to Saul. ‘Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’
‘Tell me,’ Saul replied.
17Samuel said, ‘Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18And he sent you on a mission, saying, “Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.” 19Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?’
20‘But I did obey the Lord,’ Saul said. ‘I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.’
22But Samuel replied:
‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.’
24Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 25Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.’
26But Samuel said to him, ‘I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!’
27As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbours – to one better than you. 29He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.’
30Saul replied, ‘I have sinned. But please honour me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.’ 31So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshipped the Lord.
32Then Samuel said, ‘Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.’
Agag came to him in chains.15:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. And he thought, ‘Surely the bitterness of death is past.’
33But Samuel said,
‘As your sword has made women childless,
so will your mother be childless among women.’
And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.
34Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
