10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, 11 “I regret that I made Saul king,k for he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions.”l So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.m

12 Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but it was reported to Samuel, “Saul went to Carmeln where he set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and went down to Gilgal.”o 13 When Samuel came to him, Saul said, “May the Lord bless you.p I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

14 Samuel replied, “Then what is this sound of sheep, goats, and cattle I hear?”

15 Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep, goats, and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God,q but the rest we destroyed.”r

16 “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” he replied.

17 Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant,s haven’t you become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel 18 and then sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have annihilated them.’ 19 So why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you rush on the plundert and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”

20 “But I did obey the Lord!” Saul answered.C “I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back King Agag of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites. 21 The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”u

22 Then Samuel said:

Does the Lordv take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as in obeying the Lord?

Look: to obey is better than sacrifice,

to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.w

23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,x

and defiance is like wickednessy and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as king.z