1 Samuel 15–16

15^*Samuel also said unto Saul, ^aThe Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. ²Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, ^bhow he ^claid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. ³Now go and smite Amalek, and ^dutterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay ^eboth man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. ⁴And Saul ^fgathered the people together, and numbered them in ^gTelaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and ^||laid wait in the valley. ⁶And Saul said unto ^hthe Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ⁱye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. ⁷And ^jSaul smote the Amalekites from ^kHavilah until thou comest to ^lShur, that is over against Egypt. ⁸And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed ^mall the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹But Saul and the people ⁿspared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and ^||of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

¹⁰Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, ^11oIt repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is ^pturned back from following me, ^qand hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night. ¹²And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to ^rCarmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. ¹³And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, ^sBlessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord. ¹⁴And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? ¹⁵And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: ^tfor the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. ¹⁶Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. ¹⁷And Samuel said, ^uWhen thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? ¹⁸And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until ^†they be consumed. ¹⁹Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst ^wfly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? ²⁰And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, ^xI have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ^21yBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of ^dthe things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. ²²And Samuel said,

^zHath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

As in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, ^ato obey is better than sacrifice,

And to hearken than the fat of rams.

²³For rebellion is as the sin of ^†witchcraft,

And stubbornness is as iniquity and ^bidolatry.

Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord,

^cHe hath also rejected thee from being king.

²⁴And Saul said unto Samuel, ^dI have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I ^efeared the people, and obeyed their voice. ²⁵Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord. ²⁶And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: ^ffor thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. ²⁷And as Samuel turned about to go away, ^ghe laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. ²⁸And Samuel said unto him, ^hThe 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. ²⁹And also the ^||Strength of Israel ⁱwill not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. ³⁰Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and ^jturn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. ³¹So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord.

³²Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. ³³And Samuel said, ^kAs thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And ^lSamuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in ^mGilgal. ³⁴Then Samuel went to ⁿRamah; and Saul went up to his house to ^oGibeah of Saul. ³⁵And ^pSamuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel ^qmourned for Saul: and the Lord ^rrepented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

16^*And the Lord said unto Samuel, ^aHow long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing ^bI have rejected him from reigning over Israel? ^cfill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for ^dI have provided me a king among his sons. ²And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer ^†with thee, and say, ^eI am come to sacrifice to the Lord. ³And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and ^fI will shew thee what thou shalt do: and ^gthou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. ⁴And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town ^htrembled at his ^†coming, and said, ⁱComest thou peaceably? ⁵And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: ^ksanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. ⁶And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on ^||Eliab, and ^lsaid, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. ⁷But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on ^mhis countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the ^†outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the ⁿheart. ⁸Then Jesse called ^oAbinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. ⁹Then Jesse made ^o||Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. ¹⁰Again, Jesse made ^pseven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. ¹¹And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, ^pThere remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, ^qSend and fetch him: for we will not sit ^†down till he come hither. ¹²And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ^rruddy, and withal ^†of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And ^sthe Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. ¹³Then Samuel took ^tthe horn of oil, and ^uanointed him in the midst of his brethren: and ^xthe Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to ^yRamah.

^14*But ^zthe Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and ^aan evil spirit from the Lord ^||troubled him. ¹⁵And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. ¹⁶Let our lord now command thy servants, which are ^bbefore thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall ^cplay with his hand, and thou shalt be well. ¹⁷And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. ¹⁸Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and ^da mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in ^||matters, and a comely person, and ^ethe Lord is with him. ¹⁹Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, ^fwhich is with the sheep. ²⁰And Jesse ^gtook an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. ²¹And David came to Saul, and ^hstood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. ²²And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. ²³And it came to pass, when ⁱthe evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was ^krefreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.