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 saith the Lord of hosts: I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt. 3Now 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 ass.'
4And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley. 6And Saul 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 Israel, when they came up out of Egypt.' So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7And Saul smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is in front of 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, even the young of the second birth, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but every thing that was of no account and feeble, that they destroyed utterly.
10Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying: 11'It repenteth Me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following Me, and hath not performed My commandments.' And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night. 12And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying: 'Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he is setting him 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.' 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; 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: 'Though thou be little in thine own sight, art thou not 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 hearken to the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in the sight of the Lord?' 20And Saul said unto Samuel: 'Yea, I have hearkened to 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 chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.' 22And Samuel said:
'Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices,As in hearkening to the voice of the Lord?Behold, to 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 idolatry and teraphim.
Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king.' 24And 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 hearkened to their voice. 25Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and return 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 hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.' 27And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it rent. 28And 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. 29And also the Glory of Israel will 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 return with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.' 31So Samuel returned 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 in chains. And Agag said: 'Surely the bitterness of death is at hand.' 33And Samuel said:
As thy sword hath made women childless,So shall thy mother be childless among women.
And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
34Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeath-shaul. 35And Samuel never beheld Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul; and the Lord repented that He had made Saul king over Israel.
16And the Lord said unto Samuel: 'How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I 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 a heifer with thee, and say: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will tell thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint unto Me him whom I name unto thee.' 4And Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said: 'Comest thou peaceably?' 5And he said: 'Peaceably; I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord; sanctify 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 beheld Eliab, and said: 'Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him.' 7But the Lord said unto Samuel: 'Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him; for it is not as man seeth: for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.' 8Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said: 'Neither hath the Lord chosen this.' 9Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said: 'Neither hath the Lord chosen this.' 10And Jesse made seven 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: 'There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep.' And Samuel said unto Jesse: 'Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he come hither.' 12And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of beautiful eyes, and goodly to look upon. And the Lord said: 'Arise, anoint him; for this is he.' 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
14Now the spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrified him. 15And Saul's servants said unto him: 'Behold now, an evil spirit from God terrifieth thee. 16Let our lord now command thy servants, that are before thee, to seek out a man who is a skilful player on the harp; and it shall be, when the evil spirit from God cometh upon thee, that he shall play 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 young men, and said: 'Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skilful in playing, and a mighty man of valour, and a man of war, and prudent in affairs, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.' 19Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said: 'Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep.' 20And Jesse took 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 stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer. 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 the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand; so Saul found relief, and it was well with him, and the evil spirit departed from