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.
扫罗王被废
1一天，撒母耳对扫罗说：“耶和华差遣我膏立你做祂以色列子民的王，所以你要听从祂的话。 2万军之耶和华说，‘我要惩罚亚玛力人，因为在以色列人离开埃及的时候，他们与以色列人为敌。 3你现在要去攻打他们，彻底消灭他们和他们拥有的一切，把男女老幼、牛羊骆驼和驴全部杀掉，一个不留。’”
4于是，扫罗在提拉因召集了二十万步兵，另有从犹大来的一万人。 5扫罗来到亚玛力的城池，在山谷里埋伏起来。 6他对基尼人说：“你们离开亚玛力人吧，免得我把你们也一起消灭，因为在以色列人离开埃及的时候，你们曾善待他们。”于是，基尼人离开了亚玛力人。 7扫罗攻打亚玛力人，从哈腓拉直打到埃及东面的书珥， 8生擒了亚玛力王亚甲，用刀杀尽了亚玛力人。 9扫罗和他的士兵却留下了亚甲和那些上好的牛羊、肥壮的牛犊和羊羔及一切美物，只毁灭了那些瘦弱无用的牲畜。
10那时，耶和华对撒母耳说： 11“我后悔立扫罗为王，因为他离弃了我，不遵守我的命令。”撒母耳很气愤，整夜呼求耶和华。 12清早，撒母耳起来去见扫罗，有人告诉他扫罗已前往迦密山，在那里为自己立了纪念碑，然后去了吉甲。 13撒母耳到了扫罗那里后，扫罗说：“愿耶和华赐福给你，我已经遵守了耶和华的命令。” 14撒母耳说：“那么，我现在听见的牛羊叫声是从哪里来的？” 15扫罗答道：“这是众人从亚玛力人那里带回来的，他们留下了这些上好的牛羊要献给你的上帝耶和华，我们毁灭了其余的一切。” 16撒母耳对扫罗说：“住口！让我告诉你耶和华昨天晚上对我说的话。”扫罗答道：“请说。”
17撒母耳说：“你虽然从前觉得自己微不足道，但现在却做了以色列各支派的首领。耶和华膏立你做以色列的王。 18祂差遣你去攻打那些罪恶的亚玛力人，命你把他们全部消灭。 19你为何不听从祂的命令？你为何急于掠夺财物，做耶和华视为邪恶的事呢？” 20扫罗答道：“我的确服从了耶和华的命令，照着耶和华的吩咐做了。我把亚玛力王亚甲带了回来，杀尽了其余的亚玛力人。 21士兵们却从本该毁灭的战利品中取了上好的牛羊，准备在吉甲奉献给你的上帝耶和华。” 22撒母耳说：
“耶和华喜欢燔祭和其他祭物，
岂如喜欢人们听从祂的话？
顺服胜于献祭，
听从耶和华胜过向祂献上公羊的脂肪。
23叛逆不亚于行巫术的罪，
顽固不化无异于拜偶像。
你拒绝耶和华的命令，
祂也拒绝你做王。”
24扫罗对撒母耳说：“我犯罪了！我违背了耶和华的命令和你的指示。我因惧怕百姓，就听从了他们。 25现在求你赦免我的罪，跟我一起回去，我好敬拜耶和华。” 26但撒母耳说：“我不会跟你回去，你既然拒绝遵行耶和华的命令，祂也拒绝你做以色列的王。” 27撒母耳转身离去，扫罗就抓住他外袍的衣边，结果衣边被撕下来了。 28撒母耳对他说：“耶和华今天已经从你身上撕下以色列国，赐给了一个比你好的人。 29以色列荣耀的上帝不说谎、也不改变心意，因为祂不是反复无常的世人。” 30扫罗说：“我犯了罪，但求你在以色列的长老和百姓面前尊重我，求你跟我回去，我好敬拜你的上帝耶和华。” 31于是，撒母耳跟扫罗一起回去，扫罗就敬拜耶和华。
32撒母耳说：“把亚玛力王亚甲带到我这里来。”亚甲若无其事地来到他面前，心想自己一定逃过一死了。 33但撒母耳对他说：“你的刀怎样使妇人失去儿女，你的母亲也要怎样失去她的儿子。”于是，撒母耳就在吉甲，在耶和华面前把亚甲杀死了。
34事后，撒母耳回到拉玛，扫罗也返回基比亚自己的家。 35撒母耳一直到死没有再见扫罗，但他为扫罗哀伤。耶和华后悔立扫罗做以色列王。
