Bwana Anamkataa Sauli Asiwe Mfalme
115:1 1Sam 9:16Samweli akamwambia Sauli, “Mimi ndiye ambaye Bwana alinituma nikutie mafuta uwe mfalme juu ya watu wake Israeli, basi sasa sikiliza ujumbe kutoka kwa Bwana. 215:2 Mwa 14:7; 1Sam 14:48; 2Sam 1; 8; Kut 17:8-14; Kum 25:17Hili ndilo Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote asemalo: ‘Nitawaadhibu Waamaleki kwa kile walichowatendea Israeli walipowavizia wakati walipanda kutoka Misri. 315:3 Mwa 14:23; Yos 6:17; 1Sam 22:17; 22:19; 27:9; 28:8; Es 3:13; 9:5; Law 27:28; Kut 20:5; Isa 14:21; Mwa 3:17; Yos 7:24Basi sasa nenda ukawashambulie Waamaleki na kuwaangamiza kabisa pamoja na kila kitu kilicho mali yao. Usiwahurumie; waue wanaume na wanawake, watoto na wanyonyao, ngʼombe na kondoo, ngamia na punda.’ ”
415:4 Yos 15:24Ndipo Sauli akawaita watu na kuwapanga huko Telaimu, askari wa miguu 200,000 pamoja na watu 10,000 kutoka Yuda. 5Sauli akaenda katika mji wa Amaleki na kuwavizia bondeni. 615:6 Mwa 15:19; Hes 24:22; Amu 1:16; 1Sam 30:29; Mwa 18:25; 19:12; Mdo 2:40; Ufu 18:4; Kut 18:10; Hes 10:29Kisha akawaambia Wakeni, “Ondokeni, waacheni Waamaleki ili nisije nikawaangamiza ninyi pamoja nao, kwa kuwa ninyi mliwatendea mema Waisraeli wote wakati walipanda kutoka Misri.” Basi Wakeni wakaondoka, wakawaacha Waamaleki.
715:7 1Sam 14:48; Mwa 16:7; 25:17-18; Kut 15:22Ndipo Sauli akawashambulia Waamaleki toka Havila mpaka Shuri, hadi mashariki ya Misri. 815:8 Kut 17:8-16; Hes 24:7; Yos 8:23; 1Fal 20:34; Es 3:1; 1Sam 30:1Akamchukua Agagi, mfalme wa Waamaleki akiwa hai, nao watu wake wote akawaangamiza kabisa kwa upanga. 915:9 Mit 15:27; 1Tim 6:10Lakini Sauli na hilo jeshi wakamhifadhi hai Agagi na kondoo na ngʼombe walio wazuri, mafahali na wana-kondoo walionona kila kitu kilichokuwa kizuri. Hivi vitu hawakuwa radhi kuviangamiza kabisa, bali kila kitu kilichodharauliwa na kilicho dhaifu wakakiangamiza kabisa.
10Kisha neno la Bwana likamjia Samweli kusema: 1115:11 Mwa 6:6; Kut 32:14; Yos 22:16; Ay 21:14; 34:27; Za 28:5; Isa 5:12; 53:6; Yer 48:10; Eze 18:24; 1Sam 8:6; Yos 22:16; 1Fal 9:6; Za 36:3; Sef 1:6; Mt 24:13“Ninasikitika kwamba nimemfanya Sauli kuwa mfalme, kwa sababu ameacha kunifuata mimi na hakutimiza maagizo yangu.” Samweli akafadhaika, naye akamlilia Bwana usiku ule wote.
1215:12 Yos 15:55; Hes 32:42Asubuhi na mapema Samweli akaamka kwenda kukutana na Sauli, lakini akaambiwa, “Sauli amekwenda Karmeli. Huko amesimamisha mnara kwa heshima yake mwenyewe naye ameendelea na kuteremkia Gilgali.”
1315:13 Mwa 14:19; Amu 17:2; Rut 3:2; Lk 8:11Samweli alipomfikia, Sauli akamwambia, “Bwana akubariki! Nimetimiza yale Bwana aliniagiza.”
14Lakini Samweli akasema, “Nini basi huu mlio wa kondoo masikioni mwangu? Huu mlio wa ngʼombe ninaousikia ni kitu gani?”
1515:15 Mwa 3:12; Mit 28:13Sauli akajibu, “Askari wamewaleta kutoka kwa Waamaleki, waliwaacha wale kondoo na ngʼombe wazuri ili kuwatoa dhabihu kwa Bwana, Mungu wako, lakini tuliwaangamiza kabisa wengine wote.”
16Samweli akamwambia Sauli, “Ngoja! Nami nitakuambia lile Bwana aliloniambia usiku huu.”
Sauli akajibu, “Niambie.”
1715:17 Kut 3:11; 1Sam 9:21Samweli akamwambia, “Ingawa zamani ulijiona mdogo machoni pako mwenyewe, Je, hukuwa kiongozi wa kabila za Israeli? Bwana alikutia mafuta kuwa mfalme juu ya Israeli. 18Naye akakutuma kwa kazi maalum, akisema, ‘Nenda ukaangamize kabisa wale watu waovu, wale Waamaleki, upigane nao vita mpaka utakapowaangamiza kabisa.’ 1915:19 Mwa 14:23; 1Sam 14:32Kwa nini hukumtii Bwana? Kwa nini ulivamia nyara na kufanya uovu machoni pa Bwana?”
2015:20 1Sam 28:18Sauli akasema, “Lakini nilimtii Bwana. Nilikamilisha ile kazi ambayo Bwana alinituma. Niliwaangamiza Waamaleki kabisa na kumleta Agagi mfalme wao. 21Askari walichukua kondoo na ngʼombe kutoka kwenye nyara, zile ambazo ni nzuri sana zimewekwa wakfu kwa Mungu, ili zitolewe dhabihu kwa Bwana Mungu wako huko Gilgali.”
2215:22 Za 40:6-8; 51:16; Mit 21:3; Isa 1:11-15; Yer 7:22; Hos 6:6; Amo 5:25; Mik 6:6-8; Mk 12:33; Mt 12:7; Ebr 10:6; Kut 19:5; Mhu 5:1; Yer 7:23; Hos 6:6; Mt 5:24; 9:13Lakini Samweli akajibu:
“Je, Bwana anafurahia sadaka za kuteketezwa na dhabihu
kama vile kuitii sauti ya Bwana?
Kutii ni bora zaidi kuliko dhabihu,
nako kusikia ni bora
kuliko mafuta ya kondoo dume.
2315:23 Kum 18:10; 1Sam 13:13Kwa maana kuasi ni kama dhambi ya uaguzi,
nao ukaidi ni kama uovu wa kuabudu sanamu.
Kwa sababu umelikataa neno la Bwana,
naye amekukataa wewe
kuendelea kuwa mfalme.”
2415:24 Kut 9:27; Hes 22:24; Za 51:4; 1Sam 13:13; Mit 29:25; Isa 51:12-13; Yer 42:11; 2Sam 12:13; Mt 27:4; Ay 31:34; Mit 29:25; Ufu 21:8Ndipo Sauli akamwambia Samweli, “Nimetenda dhambi. Nimevunja amri ya Bwana na maagizo yako. Niliwaogopa watu na kwa hiyo nikafanya walivyotaka. 2515:25 Kut 10:17Sasa ninakusihi usamehe dhambi yangu, nawe urudi pamoja nami, ili nipate kumwabudu Bwana.”
2615:26 Hes 15:31; 1Sam 13:14; 1Fal 14:10Lakini Samweli akamwambia, “Sitarudi pamoja nawe. Umelikataa neno la Bwana, naye Bwana amekukataa wewe, usiendelee kuwa mfalme juu ya Israeli!”
2715:27 1Sam 28:14; 1Fal 11:11; 14:8; 2Fal 17:21Samweli alipogeuka ili aondoke, Sauli akangʼangʼania pindo la joho lake, nalo likararuka. 2815:28 1Sam 28:17; 13:14; 2Sam 6:21; 7:15; 1Fal 11:31Samweli akamwambia, “Bwana ameurarua ufalme wa Israeli kutoka kwako leo, naye ameutia kwa mmoja wa majirani zako, aliye bora kuliko wewe. 2915:29 Tit 1:2; Hes 23:19; Ebr 7:21; 1Nya 29:11; Eze 24:14Yeye aliye Utukufu wa Israeli hasemi uongo wala hana kigeugeu; kwa kuwa yeye si mwanadamu, hata abadili nia yake.”
3015:30 Hes 22:34; Isa 29:13; Yn 12:43; 12:41-43; Rum 2:28-29Sauli akajibu, “Nimetenda dhambi. Lakini tafadhali niheshimu mbele ya wazee wa watu wangu na mbele ya Israeli; rudi pamoja nami, ili nipate kumwabudu Bwana Mungu wako.” 31Hivyo Samweli akarudi pamoja na Sauli, naye Sauli akamwabudu Bwana.
32Ndipo Samweli akasema, “Niletee Agagi mfalme wa Waamaleki.”
Agagi akaja kwake kwa ujasiri, akifikiri, “Hakika uchungu wa mauti umepita.”
3315:33 Es 9:7-10; Yer 18:21; Mwa 9:6; Kut 17:11; Amu 1:7; Yak 2:13; 1Fal 18:40Lakini Samweli akasema,
“Kama upanga wako ulivyofanya wanawake
kufiwa na watoto wao,
ndivyo mama yako atakavyokuwa
hana mtoto miongoni mwa wanawake.”
Naye Samweli akamuua Agagi mbele za Bwana huko Gilgali.
3415:34 1Sam 7:17; Amu 19:14; 1Sam 10:5; 11:4Kisha Samweli akaenda Rama, lakini Sauli akapanda nyumbani kwake huko Gibea ya Sauli. 3515:35 1Sam 19:24; 16:1; Mwa 6:6Hadi siku Samweli alipofariki hakwenda kumwona Sauli tena, ingawa Samweli alimwombolezea. Naye Bwana alihuzunika kwamba alimfanya Sauli kuwa mfalme juu ya Israeli.
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 honor 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 neighbors—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 honor 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 worshiped 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.
