1 Samuel 15:2-33

15:2 Here is what the Lord of hosts says: ‘I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed ¹  Israel along the way when Israel ²  came up from Egypt. 15:3 So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don’t spare ³  them. Put them to death – man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.’”

15:4 So Saul assembled ⁴  the army ⁵  and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. 15:5 Saul proceeded to the city ⁶  of Amalek, where he set an ambush ⁷  in the wadi. ⁸  15:6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites! Otherwise I will sweep you away ⁹  with them! After all, you were kind to all the Israelites when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites.

15:7 Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to ¹⁰  Shur, which is next to Egypt. 15:8 He captured King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he executed all Agag’s people ¹¹  with the sword. 15:9 However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, ¹²  and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. ¹³  They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised ¹⁴  and worthless.

15:10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

15:12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, “Saul has gone to Carmel where ¹⁵  he is setting up a monument for himself. Then Samuel left ¹⁶  and went down to Gilgal.” ¹⁷  15:13 When Samuel came to him, ¹⁸  Saul said to him, “May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said.”

15:14 Samuel replied, “If that is the case, ¹⁹  then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?” 15:15 Saul said, “They were brought ²⁰  from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered.”

15:16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute! ²¹  Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul ²²  said to him, “Tell me.” 15:17 Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose ²³  you as king over Israel. 15:18 The Lord sent you on a campaign ²⁴  saying, ‘Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you ²⁵  have destroyed them.’ 15:19 Why haven’t you obeyed ²⁶  the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord’s estimation.” ²⁷ 

15:20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed ²⁸  the Lord! I went on the campaign ²⁹  the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. 15:21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle – the best of what was to be slaughtered – to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

15:22 Then Samuel said,

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as he does in obedience? ³⁰ 

Certainly, ³¹  obedience ³²  is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than ³³  the fat of rams.

15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,

and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

he has rejected you as ³⁴  king.”

15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded ³⁵  and what you said as well. ³⁶  For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. ³⁷  15:25 Now please forgive my sin! Go back with me so I can worship ³⁸  the Lord.”

15:26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”

15:27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul ³⁹  grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. 15:28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you! 15:29 The Preeminent One ⁴⁰  of Israel does not go back on his word ⁴¹  or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” ⁴²  15:30 Saul ⁴³  again replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the Lord your God.” 15:31 So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

Samuel Puts Agag to Death

15:32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.” So Agag came to him trembling, ⁴⁴  thinking to himself, ⁴⁵  “Surely death is bitter!” ⁴⁶  15:33 Samuel said, “Just as your sword left women childless, so your mother will be the most bereaved among women!” Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces there in Gilgal before the Lord.

1 Samuel 30:1-18

David Defeats the Amalekites

30:1 On the third day David and his men came to Ziklag. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They attacked Ziklag and burned it. ⁴⁷  30:2 They took captive the women who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest, but they did not kill anyone. They simply carried them off and went on their way.

30:3 When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned. ⁴⁸  Their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive. 30:4 Then David and the men ⁴⁹  who were with him wept loudly ⁵⁰  until they could weep no more. ⁵¹  30:5 David’s two wives had been taken captive – Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow. 30:6 David was very upset, for the men ⁵²  were thinking of stoning him; ⁵³  each man grieved bitterly ⁵⁴  over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.

30:7 Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 30:8 David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Should I pursue this raiding band? Will I overtake them?” He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them and carry out a rescue!”

30:9 So David went, accompanied by his six hundred men. When he came to the Wadi Besor, those who were in the rear stayed there. ⁵⁵  30:10 David and four hundred men continued the pursuit, but two hundred men who were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor stayed there.

30:11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave him bread to eat and water to drink. 30:12 They gave him a slice of pressed figs and two bunches of raisins to eat. This greatly refreshed him, ⁵⁶  for he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. 30:13 David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” The young man said, “I am an Egyptian, the servant of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me when I was ill for three days. 30:14 We conducted a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, on the area of Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag.” ⁵⁷  30:15 David said to him, “Can you take us down to this raiding party?” He said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to this raiding party.”

30:16 So he took David ⁵⁸  down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot ⁵⁹  they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. 30:17 But David struck them down from twilight until the following evening. None of them escaped, with the exception of four hundred young men who got away on camels. ⁶⁰  30:18 David retrieved everything the Amalekites had taken; he ⁶¹  also rescued his two wives.

[15:2]  ¹ tn Heb “what Amalek did to Israel, how he placed against him.”

[15:2]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:3]  ³ tn Or perhaps “don’t take pity on” (cf. CEV).

[15:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “caused the people to hear.”

[15:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “people.”

[15:5]  ⁶ tc The LXX has the plural here, “cities.”

[15:5]  ⁷ tc The translation follows the LXX and Vulgate which assume a reading וַיָּאָרֶב (vayya’arev, “and he set an ambush,” from the root ארב [’rv] with quiescence of alef) rather than the MT, which has וַיָּרֶב (vayyareb, “and he contended,” from the root ריב [ryv]).

[15:5]  ⁸ tn That is, “the dry stream bed.”

[15:6]  ⁹ tc The translation follows the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate which assume a reading אֶסִפְךָ (’esfÿka, “I sweep you away,” from the root ספה [sfh]) rather than the MT אֹסִפְךָ (’osifÿka, “I am gathering you,” from the root אסף[’sf]).

[15:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[as] you enter.”

[15:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all the people.” For clarity “Agag’s” has been supplied in the translation.

[15:9]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text is difficult here. We should probably read וְהַמַּשְׂמַנִּים (vÿhammasmannim, “the fat ones”) rather than the MT וְהַמִּשְׂנִים (vÿhammisnim, “the second ones”). However, if the MT is retained, the sense may be as the Jewish commentator Kimchi supposed: the second-born young, thought to be better than the firstlings. (For discussion see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 123-24.)

[15:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “good.”

[15:9]  ¹⁴ tc The MT has here the very odd form נְמִבְזָה (nÿmivzah), but this is apparently due to a scribal error. The translation follows instead the Niphal participle נִבְזָה (nivzah).

[15:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and look.”

[15:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he turned and crossed over.”

[15:12]  ¹⁷ tc At the end of v. 12 the LXX and one Old Latin ms include the following words not found in the MT: “to Saul. And behold, he was offering as a burnt offering to the Lord the best of the spoils that he had brought from the Amalekites.”

[15:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to Saul.”

[15:14]  ¹⁹ tn The words “if that is the case” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “they brought them.”

[15:16]  ²¹ tn Or perhaps “be quiet.”

[15:16]  ²² tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the singular (“he said”) rather than the plural (“they said”) of the Kethib.

[15:16]  tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:17]  ²³ tn Heb “anointed.”

[15:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “journey.”

[15:18]  ²⁵ tc The translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum in reading the second person singular suffix (“you”) rather than the third person plural suffix of the MT (“they”).

[15:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “listened to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:19]  ²⁷ tn Heb “you have done what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

[15:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “listened to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “journey.”

[15:22]  ³⁰ tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”

[15:22]  ³¹ tn Heb “look.”

[15:22]  ³² tn Heb “listening.”

[15:22]  ³³ tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).

[15:23]  ³⁴ tn Or “from [being].”

[15:24]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.”

[15:24]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and your words.”

[15:24]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and I listened to their voice.”

[15:25]  ³⁸ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[15:27]  ³⁹ tn Heb “he,” but Saul is clearly the referent. A Qumran ms and the LXX include the name “Saul” here.

[15:29]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the Lord.

[15:29]  ⁴¹ tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”

[15:29]  ⁴² sn This observation marks the preceding statement (v. 28) as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree he will not alter it or change his mind. This does not mean that God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind. On the contrary, several passages describe him as changing his mind. In fact, his willingness to do so is one of his fundamental divine attributes (see Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Change His Mind?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.

[15:30]  ⁴³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:32]  ⁴⁴ tn The MT reading מַעֲדַנֹּת (ma’adannot, literally, “bonds,” used here adverbially, “in bonds”) is difficult. The word is found only here and in Job 38:31. Part of the problem lies in determining the root of the word. Some scholars have taken it to be from the root ענד (’nd, “to bind around”), but this assumes a metathesis of two of the letters of the root. Others take it from the root עדן (’dn) with the meaning “voluptuously,” but this does not seem to fit the context. It seems better to understand the word to be from the root מעד (m’d, “to totter” or “shake”). In that case it describes the fear that Agag experienced in realizing the mortal danger that he faced as he approached Samuel. This is the way that the LXX translators understood the word, rendering it by the Greek participle τρέμον (tremon, “trembling”).

[15:32]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and Agag said.”

[15:32]  ⁴⁶ tc The text is difficult here. With the LXX, two Old Latin mss, and the Syriac Peshitta it is probably preferable to delete סָר (sar, “is past”) of the MT; it looks suspiciously like a dittograph of the following word מַר (mar, “bitter”). This further affects the interpretation of Agag’s comment. In the MT he comes to Samuel confidently assured that the danger is over (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV “Surely the bitterness of death is past,” along with NLT, CEV). However, it seems more likely that Agag realized that his fortunes had suddenly taken a turn for the worse and that the clemency he had enjoyed from Saul would not be his lot from Samuel. The present translation thus understands Agag to approach not confidently but in the stark realization that his death is imminent (“Surely death is bitter!”). Cf. NAB “So it is bitter death!”; NRSV “Surely this is the bitterness of death”; TEV “What a bitter thing it is to die!”

[30:1]  ⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

[30:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and David and his men came to the city, and look, it was burned with fire.”

[30:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “people.”

[30:4]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “lifted up their voice and wept.”

[30:4]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “until there was no longer in them strength to weep.”

[30:6]  ⁵² tn Heb “people.”

[30:6]  ⁵³ tn Heb “said to stone him.”

[30:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one.”

[30:9]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “stood.” So also in v. 10.

[30:12]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “his spirit returned to him.”

[30:14]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

[30:16]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “because of all the large plunder.”

[30:17]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “who rode on camels and fled.”

[30:18]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “David.” The pronoun (“he”) has been substituted for the proper name in the translation for stylistic reasons.