1 Samuel 15:23–29

23 For 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.”

24 Then 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. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”

26 But 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!”

27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel 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. 29 He 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.”

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,

And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord,

He hath also rejected thee from being king.

24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord. 26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,

and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.

So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,

he has rejected you as king.”

24 Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned. I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded. 25 But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”

26 But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you! Since you have rejected the Lord’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”

27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you. 29 And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,

And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

He also has rejected you from being king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”

26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”

23 Disobedience is as bad as the sin of sorcery.

Pride is as bad as the sin of worshiping idols.

You have rejected the Lord’s command.

Now he rejects you as king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I didn’t obey the Lord’s commands and your words. I was afraid of the people, and I did what they said. 25 Now, I beg you, forgive my sin. Come back with me so I may worship the Lord.”

26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I won’t go back with you. You rejected the Lord’s command, and now he rejects you as king of Israel.”

27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors who is better than you. 29 The Lord is the Eternal One of Israel. He does not lie or change his mind. He is not a human being, so he does not change his mind.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah. 26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it rent. 28 And Samuel said unto him, Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And selfwill is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He hath also rejected thee from being king.

24 And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words; for I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice. 25 And now, I pray thee, forgive my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah. 26 And Samuel said to Saul, I will not turn again with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah has rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned to go away, Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 Then Samuel said to him, Jehovah has rent the kingdom of Israel from thee to-day, and has given it to thy neighbour, who is better than thou. 29 And also the Hope of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.

23 The sin of black magic is rebellion. 

Wickedness and idolatry are arrogance. 

Because you rejected the Lord’s word, 

he rejects you as king.” 

24 Then Saul told Samuel, “I have sinned by not following the Lord’s command or your instructions. I was afraid of the people and listened to them. 25 Now please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.” 

26 Samuel told Saul, “I will not go back with you because you rejected what the Lord told you. So the Lord rejects you as king of Israel.” 27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel told him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today. He has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. 29 In addition, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind, because he is not a mortal who changes his mind.” 

23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

He has rejected you as king.

24 Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned. I have transgressed the Lord’s command and your words. Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them. 25 Now therefore, please forgive my sin and return with me so I can worship the Lord.”

26 Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 When Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingship of Israel away from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. 29 Furthermore, the Eternal One of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not man who changes his mind.”

23 For rebellion is no less a sin than divination,

and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has also rejected you from being king.”

24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” 26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. 29 Moreover, the Glory of Israel will not deceive or change his mind, for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind.”

23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination;

arrogance is like iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh,

he has rejected you from being king!”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned because I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh and your words, for I feared the troops and I listened to their voice. 25 So then, please pardon my sin and return with me so that I can worship Yahweh.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and he has rejected you from being king over Israel!”

27 As Samuel turned around to go, he caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Then Samuel said to him, “Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. 29 Moreover, the Glory of Israel will not break faith and will not regret, for he is not a human that he should regret.”

23 Refusing to obey him is as sinful as using evil magic.

Being proud is as evil as worshiping statues of gods.

You have refused to do what the Lord told you to do.

So he has refused to have you as king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I’ve broken the Lord’s command. I haven’t done what you directed me to do. I was afraid of the people. So I did what they said I should do. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin. Come back into town with me so I can worship the Lord.”

26 But Samuel said to him, “I won’t go back with you. You have refused to do what the Lord told you to do. So he has refused to have you as king over Israel!”

27 Samuel turned to leave. But Saul grabbed hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.

28 Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today. He has given it to one of your neighbors. He has given it to someone who is better than you. 29 The One who is the Glory of Israel does not lie. He doesn’t change his mind. That’s because he isn’t a mere man. If he were, he might change his mind.”

23 “For rebellion is as the sin of divination,

And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

He has also rejected you from being king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.

25 “Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”

26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.

28 So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.

29 “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”