First Book of Samuel, Chapter 15

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1 Samuel 15 NWT - New World Translation

Chapter 15 of 1 Samuel—New World Translation (NWT)

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¶ Then Samuel said to Saul: “It was I whom Jehovah sent to anoint¹ you as king over his people Israel, and now listen to the voice of the words of Jehovah.²
This is what Jehovah of armies³ has said, ‘I must call to account⁴ what Amʹa·lek did to Israel when he set himself against him in the way while he was coming up out of Egypt.⁵
Now go, and you must strike down Amʹa·lek⁶ and devote him to destruction⁷ with all that he has, and you must not have compassion upon him, and you must put them to death,⁸ man as well as woman, child as well as suckling,⁹ bull as well as sheep, camel as well as ass.’”¹⁰
Accordingly Saul summoned the people and took the count of them in Te·laʹim,¹¹ two hundred thousand men on foot and ten thousand men of Judah.¹²
¶ And Saul proceeded to come as far as the city of Amʹa·lek and to lie in ambush by the torrent valley.
Meanwhile Saul said to the Kenʹites:¹³ “GO, DEPART,¹⁴ GO DOWN from the midst of the A·malʹek·ites, that I may not sweep you away^[a] with them. As for you, you exercised loving-kindness^[b] with all the sons of Israel¹⁵ at the time of their coming up out of Egypt.”¹⁶ So the Kenʹites departed from the midst of Amʹa·lek.
After that Saul went striking down Amʹa·lek¹⁷ from Havʹi·lah¹⁸ as far as Shur,¹⁹ which is in front of Egypt.
And he got to catch Aʹgag²⁰ the king of Amʹa·lek alive, and all the other people he devoted to destruction with the edge of the sword.²¹
But Saul and the people had compassion upon Aʹgag and upon the best of the flock and the herd²² and the fat ones^[c] and upon the rams and upon all that was good, and they did not wish to devote them to destruction.²³ As for all the goods that were despicable and rejected, these they devoted to destruction.
¶ The word of Jehovah now came^[d] to Samuel, saying:
“I do regret²⁴ that I have caused Saul to reign as king, because he has turned²⁵ back from following me, and my words he has not carried out.”²⁶ And it was distressing to Samuel,^[e]²⁷ and he kept crying out to Jehovah all night long.²⁸
Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul in the morning. But report was made to Samuel, saying: “Saul came to Carʹmel,²⁹ and, look! he was erecting a monument³⁰ for himself, and he then turned around and went across and descended to Gilʹgal.”
At length Samuel came to Saul, and Saul began to say to him: “Blessed³¹ are you of Jehovah. I have carried out the word of Jehovah.”³²
But Samuel said: “Then what does this sound of the flock in my ears mean, and the sound of the herd that I am hearing?”³³
To this Saul said: “From the A·malʹek·ites they have brought them, because the people³⁴ had compassion upon the best of the flock and of the herd, for the purpose of sacrificing to Jehovah your God;³⁵ but what was left over we have devoted to destruction.”
At this Samuel said to Saul: “Stop! And I will tell you what Jehovah spoke to me last night.”³⁶ So he^[f] said to him: “Speak!”
¶ And Samuel went on to say: “Was it not when you were little in your own eyes³⁷ that you were head of the tribes of Israel, and Jehovah proceeded to anoint³⁸ you as king over Israel?
Later Jehovah sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, and you must devote the sinners,³⁹ the A·malʹek·ites,^[g] to destruction, and you must fight against them until you will have exterminated them.’⁴⁰
So why is it you did not obey the voice of Jehovah but went darting greedily at the spoil⁴¹ and doing what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah?”⁴²
¶ However, Saul said to Samuel: “But I have obeyed⁴³ the voice of Jehovah in that I went on the mission on which Jehovah had sent me and I brought Aʹgag⁴⁴ the king of Amʹa·lek, but Amʹa·lek I have devoted to destruction.⁴⁵
And the people⁴⁶ went taking from the spoil sheep and cattle, the choicest of them as something devoted to destruction, to sacrifice⁴⁷ to Jehovah your God in Gilʹgal.”⁴⁸
¶ In turn Samuel said: “Does Jehovah have as much delight in burnt offerings⁴⁹ and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Look! To obey⁵⁰ is better than a sacrifice,⁵¹ to pay attention than the fat⁵² of rams;
for rebelliousness⁵³ is the same as the sin of divination,⁵⁴ and pushing ahead presumptuously^[h] the same as [using] uncanny power and teraphim.^[i]⁵⁵ Since you have rejected the word of Jehovah,⁵⁶ he^[j] accordingly rejects you from being king.”^[k]⁵⁷
¶ Then Saul said to Samuel: “I have sinned;⁵⁸ for I have overstepped the order of Jehovah and your words, because I feared the people⁵⁹ and so obeyed their voice.
And now, please, pardon⁶⁰ my sin and return with me that I may prostrate⁶¹ myself to^[l] Jehovah.”
But Samuel said to Saul: “I shall not return with you, for you have rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah rejects you from continuing as king over Israel.”⁶²
As Samuel was turning about to go, he immediately grabbed hold of the skirt of his sleeveless coat, but it ripped⁶³ away.
At this Samuel said to him: “Jehovah has ripped away⁶⁴ the royal rule of Israel from off you today, and he will certainly give it to a fellowman of yours who is better than you.⁶⁵
And, besides, the Excellency^[m] of Israel⁶⁶ will not prove false,⁶⁷ and He will not feel regrets, for He is not an earthling man^[n] so as to feel regrets.”⁶⁸
¶ At this he^[o] said: “I have sinned. Now honor me,⁶⁹ please, in front of the older men of my people and in front of Israel and return with me, and I shall certainly prostrate myself to Jehovah your God.”⁷⁰
So Samuel returned behind Saul, and Saul proceeded to prostrate himself to Jehovah.
After that Samuel said: “BRING Aʹgag the king of Amʹa·lek near to me.” Then Aʹgag went to him reluctantly,^[p] and Aʹgag began to say to himself:^[q] “Truly the bitter experience of death has departed.”
However, Samuel said: “Just as your sword⁷¹ has bereaved women of children, in that way your mother⁷² will be most bereaved of children among women.”⁷³ With that Samuel went hacking Aʹgag to pieces before Jehovah in Gilʹgal.⁷⁴
¶ Samuel now went his way to Raʹmah, and Saul, for his part, went up to his own house at Gibʹe·ah⁷⁵ of Saul.
And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, because Samuel had gone into mourning⁷⁶ for Saul. As for Jehovah, he regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.⁷⁷

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FOOTNOTES

^ “Sweep you away,” by a slight emendation; M, “collect (gather) you.”
^ Or, “loyal love.”
^ “Fat ones,” T; M, “animals of the second litter,” hence, more valued.
^ Or, “occurred; came to be.”
^ “It was distressing to Samuel,” by a slight emendation; M, “Samuel became angry.”
^ “He,” M^margin; M, “they.”
^ Lit., “Amalek.”
^ “Pushing ahead presumptuously.” In Heb. this is a verb in the infinitive absolute, indefinite as to time and impersonal.
^ “Teraphim,” MLXX; Vg, “idolatry.”
^ “He,” MSy; LXX, “Jehovah.”
^ “From being king,” MVg; LXX, “from being king over Israel.”
^ Or, “I may worship.”
^ Or, “Eminence,” MSy; Vg, “Triumphant One.”
^ Or, “a man.” Heb., ʼa·dhamʹ; Gr., anʹthro·pos; Lat., hoʹmo; Sy, “son of man.”
^ “He,” MVg; LXXSy, “Saul.”
^ Or, “in fetters.” Or, “cheerfully.” LXX, “trembling.”
^ Or, “began to think.”

REFERENCES

^ 1Sa 9:16; 10:1
^ De 17:20; 1Sa 12:14; Ec 12:13
^ 2Sa 7:26
^ Ge 12:3; Zc 2:8
^ Ex 17:8; Nu 24:20; De 25:17, 18
^ Ex 17:14; De 25:19; 1Ch 4:43
^ Le 27:28, 29; 1Sa 15:18
^ De 9:3
^ Ex 20:5; Is 14:21
^ De 13:17; Jos 6:18
^ Jos 15:24
^ 1Sa 11:8; 13:15
^ Nu 10:29, 32; 24:21; Jg 1:16; 4:11
^ Ge 18:25; 19:12; Nu 16:26; 1Ki 20:31; Pr 20:28
^ Ge 12:3; Ex 18:9, 12; Nu 10:29; Heb 6:10
^ De 5:15; 16:3
^ De 25:19; 1Sa 14:48
^ Ge 25:18
^ Ge 16:7; 1Sa 27:8
^ 1Sa 15:33
^ Le 27:29; 1Sa 15:3
^ Le 27:28; Jos 7:12; 1Sa 13:9; Pr 11:2; 14:12; 21:24
^ Je 48:10
^ Ge 6:6; 1Sa 15:26, 35; Je 18:8
^ Ps 36:2; 125:5; Ec 4:13; Ml 3:7
^ 1Sa 13:13; 15:3
^ 1Sa 16:1; Ps 119:136
^ Ps 55:2
^ Jos 15:55; 1Sa 25:2
^ 2Sa 18:18; Ps 49:11; Pr 8:13; 15:25
^ 1Sa 13:10
^ Pr 12:15; 18:17; 26:12
^ 1Sa 15:3; Ps 36:2
^ Ge 3:12; Ex 32:22; 1Sa 15:21
^ 1Ch 28:9; Pr 28:13
^ 1Sa 15:10
^ 1Sa 9:21; 10:22
^ 1Sa 9:16; 10:1
^ 1Sa 15:3; Jb 31:3; Pr 10:29; 13:21
^ De 25:19
^ De 13:17; 1Sa 15:9; Pr 28:20; Eph 5:5
^ 1Sa 15:24
^ Pr 21:29; 28:14
^ Le 27:29; 1Ki 20:42; Je 48:10
^ De 7:16; 1Sa 15:3
^ Ex 32:22; 1Sa 15:15
^ Ec 5:1
^ 1Sa 13:4
^ Ps 50:8; Is 1:11; Mc 6:6
^ Je 7:23; 38:20
^ Pr 21:3; Ho 6:6; Mr 12:33
^ Le 3:16
^ Nu 14:9; De 9:7; 1Sa 12:15
^ Le 20:6; De 18:10; 1Sa 28:3; 1Ch 10:13; Is 8:19
^ Ge 31:19, 30; 2Ki 23:24
^ 1Sa 15:3
^ 1Sa 13:14; 16:1; 1Ch 28:9; Ac 13:22
^ 1Sa 2:25; 2Co 7:10; Jm 4:17
^ Pr 29:25; Is 51:12
^ 1Sa 2:25
^ 1Sa 15:30
^ De 17:20; 1Sa 12:25; 13:14; 16:1
^ 1Ki 11:30
^ 1Ki 11:31
^ 1Sa 13:14; 16:12; 28:17; Ac 13:22
^ 1Ch 29:11; Jb 37:22; Is 43:3; 44:6
^ Ps 89:35; Ti 1:2; Heb 6:18
^ Nu 23:19; Ps 110:4; Eze 24:14
^ Pr 26:1
^ 1Sa 15:25; Is 29:13; Mt 15:8
^ Mt 26:52
^ Jg 5:28
^ Ge 9:6; Le 24:17; De 19:21; Jg 1:7; Mt 7:2
^ Ex 17:14; De 25:19; 1Sa 15:3
^ 1Sa 11:4
^ 1Sa 16:1
^ 1Sa 15:11

First Book of Samuel, Chapter 15

FOOTNOTES

REFERENCES

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