1And Samuel said unto Saul, The 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 hath said the LORD of the hosts, I remember [that] which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid [wait] for him in the way when he came up from Egypt. 3Now go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have and spare him not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 4And Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, 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 the Kenite, Go, depart, go out from among those of Amalek lest I destroy you with them, for ye showed mercy to all the sons of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenite departed from among those of Amalek. 7And Saul smote Amalek from Havilah [until] thou comest to Shur that [is] over against Egypt. 8And he took Agag, the king of the Amalekites, alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9But Saul and the people spared 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 the word of the LORD came unto Samuel, saying, 11It grieves me that I have set up Saul [to be] king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments. And it incensed 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 Carmel, and, behold, he set himself up a monument and is gone about and passed on and gone down to Gilgal. 13And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him, Blessed [be] thou of the LORD; I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 14Then Samuel said, What [means] then this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15And Saul said, They have brought them from Amalek, for 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, When 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 of Amalek and fight against them until they are consumed. 19Why then didst thou not hear the voice of the LORD but didst fly upon the spoil and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20And Saul said unto Samuel, But I 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. 21But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the firstfruits of the anathema, to sacrifice them unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22And Samuel said, Does the LORD have [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in hearing the voice of the LORD? Behold, to hear [is] better than sacrifice [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion [is] the sin of witchcraft, and to break [the word of the Lord is] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected thee from [being] king. 24Then 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 consented unto 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, for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28And Samuel said unto him, The LORD has rent the kingdom of Israel from thee today and has given it to a neighbour of thine [that is] better than thou. 29And also the Overcomer of Israel will not lie nor repent concerning this, 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 turn again with me that I may worship the LORD thy God. 31So Samuel turned again after Saul, and Saul worshipped the LORD. 32Then Samuel said, Bring me Agag, the king of Amalek. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is near. 33And Samuel said, As thy sword has made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. Then Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 34Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; nevertheless, Samuel mourned for Saul because the LORD had repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.: