15:1
The War on Amalek and the Rejection of Shaul
Shamuel also said unto Shaul, "𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Yashar'al: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄."
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1 Shamu'al 15
1 Shamu'al chapter 15 in the Qadmoni reader. Read the full chapter text with direct verse references and continue into the interactive reader.
Browse 1 Shamu'al chapter index15:2
"Thus saith 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 Tzebaoth, I remember that which Amalek did to Yashar'al, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Mitzrayim."
15:3
"Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey."
15:4
The Mobilization of the Army
And Shaul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Yahudah.
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And Shaul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
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The Extraction of the Kenites
And Shaul said unto the Kenites, "Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Yashar'al, when they came up out of Mitzrayim." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
15:7
The Compromised Conquest
And Shaul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Mitzrayim.
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And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
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But Shaul 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.
15:10
The Grief of the Prophet
Then came the word of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 unto Shamuel, saying,
15:11
"It repenteth me that I have set up Shaul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments." And it grieved Shamuel; and he cried unto 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 all night.
15:12
The Monument of Pride
And when Shamuel rose early to meet Shaul in the morning, it was told Shamuel, saying, "Shaul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal."
15:13
The Confrontation at Gilgal
And Shamuel came to Shaul: and Shaul said unto him, "Blessed be thou of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄: I have performed the commandment of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄."
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And Shamuel said, "What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"
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And Shaul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 thy Alahiym; and the rest we have utterly destroyed."
15:16
Then Shamuel said unto Shaul, "Stay, and I will tell thee what 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 hath said to me this night." And he said unto him, "Say on."
15:17
The Indictment of the Crown
And Shamuel said, "When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Yashar'al, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 anointed thee king over Yashar'al?"
15:18
"And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed."
15:19
"Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄?"
15:20
And Shaul said unto Shamuel, "Yea, I have obeyed the voice of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, and have gone the way which 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites."
15:21
"But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 thy Alahiym in Gilgal."
15:22
The Law of Obedience Over Sacrifice
And Shamuel said, "Hath 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."
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"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, he hath also rejected thee from being king."
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The Carnal Repentance
And Shaul said unto Shamuel, "I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice."
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"Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄."
15:26
And Shamuel said unto Shaul, "I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 hath rejected thee from being king over Yashar'al."
15:27
The Tearing of the Kingdom
And as Shamuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
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And Shamuel said unto him, "𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 hath rent the kingdom of Yashar'al from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou."
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"And also the Strength of Yashar'al will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent."
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Then he said, "I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Yashar'al, and turn again with me, that I may worship 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 thy Alahiym."
15:31
So Shamuel turned again after Shaul; and Shaul worshipped 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.
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The Execution of Agag
Then said Shamuel, "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."
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And Shamuel said, "As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women." And Shamuel hewed Agag in pieces before 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 in Gilgal.
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The Final Separation
Then Shamuel went to Ramah; and Shaul went up to his house to Gibeah of Shaul.
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And Shamuel came no more to see Shaul until the day of his death: nevertheless Shamuel mourned for Shaul: and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 repented that he had made Shaul king over Yashar'al.