³ Now go and strike Amalek and ^(A)completely destroy everything that he has, and do not spare him; but ^(B)put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

⁴ Then Saul summoned the people and ^[a]counted them in ^(C)Telaim: two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵ And Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ^[b]wadi. ⁶ But Saul said to ^(D)the Kenites, “Go, get away, go down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you along with them; for ^(E)you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they went up from Egypt.” So the Kenites got away from among the Amalekites. ⁷ Then ^(F)Saul ^[c]defeated the Amalekites, from ^(G)Havilah ^[d]going toward ^(H)Shur, which is ^[e]east of Egypt. ⁸ He captured ^(I)Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and ^(J)completely destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹ But Saul and the people ^(K)spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the more valuable animals, the lambs, and everything that was good, and were unwilling to destroy them completely; but everything despicable and weak, that they completely destroyed.

Samuel Rebukes Saul

¹⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, ¹¹ “^(L)I regret that I have made Saul king, because ^(M)he has turned back from ^[f]following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was furious and ^(N)cried out to the Lord all night. ¹² Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was reported to Samuel, saying, “Saul came to ^(O)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on ^[g]down to ^(P)Gilgal.” ¹³ So Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “^(Q)Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” ¹⁴ But Samuel said, “^(R)What then is this ^[h]bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the ^[i]bellowing of the oxen which I hear?” ¹⁵ Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for ^(S)the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have completely destroyed.” ¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and let me inform you of what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”

¹⁷ So Samuel said, “^[j]Is it not true, ^(T)though you were ^[k]insignificant in your own eyes, that you became the head of the tribes of Israel? For the Lord anointed you as king over Israel. ¹⁸ And the Lord sent you on a ^[l]mission, and said, ‘^(U)Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are eliminated.’