2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will 1punish Amalek afor what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt.

3 ‘Now go and strike Amalek and autterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but bput to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”

4 Then Saul summoned the people and 1numbered them in aTelaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.

5 Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the valley.

6 Saul said to athe Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you with them; for byou showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

7 So aSaul 1defeated the Amalekites, from bHavilah as you go to cShur, which is 2east of Egypt.

8 He captured aAgag the king of the Amalekites alive, and butterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

9 But Saul and the people aspared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

Samuel Rebukes Saul

10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,

11 “aI regret that I have made Saul king, for bhe has turned back from 1following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and ccried out to the Lord all night.

12 Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul came to aCarmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on 1down to bGilgal.”

13 Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “aBlessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.”

14 But Samuel said, “aWhat then is this 1bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the 1lowing of the oxen which I hear?”

15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for athe people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.”

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”

17 Samuel said, “Is it not true, athough you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel,

18 and the Lord sent you on a 1mission, and said, ‘aGo and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’

19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, abut rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”