¹ And Samuel saith unto Saul, `Me did Jehovah send to anoint thee for king over His people, over Israel; and now, hearken to the voice of the words of Jehovah:

² `Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, I have looked after that which Amalek did to Israel, that which he laid for him in the way in his going up out of Egypt.

³ Now, go, and thou hast smitten Amalek, and devoted all that it hath, and thou hast no pity on it, and hast put to death from man unto woman, from infant unto suckling, from ox unto sheep, from camel unto ass.'

⁴ And Saul summoneth the people, and inspecteth them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand [are] men of Judah.

⁵ And Saul cometh in unto a city of Amalek, and layeth wait in a valley;

⁶ and Saul saith unto the Kenite, `Go, turn aside, go down from the midst of Amalek, lest I consume thee with it, and thou didst kindness with all the sons of Israel, in their going up out of Egypt;' and the Kenite turneth aside from the midst of Amalek.

⁷ And Saul smiteth Amalek from Havilah -- thy going in to Shur, which [is] on the front of Egypt,

⁸ and he catcheth Agag king of Amalek alive, and all the people he hath devoted by the mouth of the sword;

⁹ and Saul hath pity -- also the people -- on Agag, and on the best of the flock, and of the herd, and of the seconds, and on the lambs, and on all that [is] good, and have not been willing to devote them; and all the work, despised and wasted -- it they devoted.

¹⁰ And the word of Jehovah is unto Samuel, saying,

¹¹ `I have repented that I caused Saul to reign for king, for he hath turned back from after Me, and My words he hath not performed;' and it is displeasing to Samuel, and he crieth unto Jehovah all the night.

¹² And Samuel riseth early to meet Saul in the morning, and it is declared to Samuel, saying, `Saul hath come in to Carmel, and lo, he is setting up to himself a monument, and goeth round, and passeth over, and goeth down to Gilgal.'

¹³ And Samuel cometh in unto Saul, and Saul saith to him, `Blessed [art] thou of Jehovah; I have performed the word of Jehovah.'

¹⁴ And Samuel saith, `And what [is] the noise of this flock in mine ears -- and the noise of the herd which I am hearing?'

¹⁵ And Saul saith, `From Amalek they have brought them, because the people had pity on the best of the flock, and of the herd, in order to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God, and the remnant we have devoted.'

¹⁶ And Samuel saith unto Saul, `Desist, and I declare to thee that which Jehovah hath spoken unto me to-night;' and he saith to him, `Speak.'

¹⁷ And Samuel saith, `Art not thou, if thou [art] little in thine own eyes, head of the tribes of Israel? and Jehovah doth anoint thee for king over Israel,

¹⁸ and Jehovah sendeth thee in the way, and saith, Go, and thou hast devoted the sinners, the Amalekite, and fought against them till they are consumed;

¹⁹ and why hast thou not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah -- and dost fly unto the spoil, and dost do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah?'

²⁰ And Saul saith unto Samuel, `Because -- I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and I go in the way which Jehovah hath sent me, and bring in Agag king of Amalek, and Amalek I have devoted;

²¹ and the people taketh of the spoil of the flock and herd, the first part of the devoted thing, for sacrifice to Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.'

²² And Samuel saith, `Hath Jehovah had delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as [in] hearkening to the voice of Jehovah? lo, hearkening than sacrifice is better; to give attention than fat of rams;

²³ for a sin of divination [is] rebellion, and iniquity and teraphim [is] stubbornness; because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He also doth reject thee from [being] king.'

²⁴ And Saul saith unto Samuel, `I have sinned, for I passed over the command of Jehovah, and thy words; because I have feared the people, I also hearken to their voice;

²⁵ and now, bear, I pray thee, with my sin, and turn back with me, and I bow myself to Jehovah.'

²⁶ And Samuel saith unto Saul, `I do not turn back with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah doth reject thee from being king over Israel.'

²⁷ And Samuel turneth round to go, and he layeth hold on the skirt of his upper robe -- and it is rent!

²⁸ And Samuel saith unto him, `Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee to-day, and given it to thy neighbour who is better than thou;

²⁹ and also, the Pre-eminence of Israel doth not lie nor repent, for He [is] not a man to be penitent.'

³⁰ And he saith, `I have sinned; now, honour me, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn back with me; and I have bowed myself to Jehovah thy God.'

³¹ And Samuel turneth back after Saul, and Saul boweth himself to Jehovah;

³² and Samuel saith, `Bring ye nigh unto me Agag king of Amalek,' and Agag cometh unto him daintily, and Agag saith, `Surely the bitterness of death hath turned aside.'

³³ And Samuel saith, `As thy sword bereaved women -- so is thy mother bereaved above women;' and Samuel heweth Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.

³⁴ And Samuel goeth to Ramath, and Saul hath gone unto his house -- to Gibeah of Saul.

³⁵ And Samuel hath not added to see Saul till the day of his death, for Samuel mourned for Saul, and Jehovah repented that He had caused Saul to reign over Israel.

¹ `When thou goest out to battle against thine enemy, and hast seen horse and chariot -- a people more numerous than thou -- thou art not afraid of them, for Jehovah thy God [is] with thee, who is bringing thee up out of the land of Egypt;

² and it hath been, in your drawing near unto the battle, that the priest hath come nigh, and spoken unto the people,

³ and said unto them, Hear, Israel, ye are drawing near to-day to battle against your enemies, let not your hearts be tender, fear not, nor make haste, nor be terrified at their presence,

⁴ for Jehovah your God [is] He who is going with you, to fight for you with your enemies -- to save you.

⁵ `And the authorities have spoken unto the people, saying, Who [is] the man that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? -- let him go and turn back to his house, lest he die in battle, and another man dedicate it.

⁶ `And who [is] the man that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not made it common? -- let him go and turn back to his house, lest he die in battle, and another man make it common.

⁷ `And who [is] the man that hath betrothed a woman, and hath not taken her? -- let him go and turn back to his house, lest he die in battle, and another man take her.

⁸ `And the authorities have added to speak unto the people, and said, Who [is] the man that is afraid and tender of heart? -- let him go and turn back to his house, and the heart of his brethren doth not melt like his heart;

⁹ and it hath come to pass as the authorities finish to speak unto the people, that they have appointed princes of the hosts at the head of the people.

¹⁰ `When thou drawest near unto a city to fight against it, then thou hast called unto it for Peace,

¹¹ and it hath been, if Peace it answer thee, and hath opened to thee, then it hath come to pass -- all the people who are found in it are to thee for tributaries, and have served thee.

¹² `And if it doth not make peace with thee, and hath made with thee war, then thou hast laid siege against it,

¹³ and Jehovah thy God hath given it into thy hand, and thou hast smitten every male of it by the mouth of the sword.

¹⁴ Only, the women, and the infants, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, thou dost seize for thyself, and thou hast eaten the spoil of thine enemies which Jehovah thy God hath given to thee.

¹⁵ So thou dost do to all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

¹⁶ `Only, of the cities of these peoples which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee [for] an inheritance, thou dost not keep alive any breathing;

¹⁷ for thou dost certainly devote the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee,

¹⁸ so that they teach you not to do according to all their abominations which they have done to their gods, and ye have sinned against Jehovah your God.

¹⁹ `When thou layest siege unto a city many days, to fight against it, to capture it, thou dost not destroy its trees to force an axe against them, for of them thou dost eat, and them thou dost not cut down -- for man's [is] the tree of the field -- to go in at thy presence in the siege.

²⁰ Only, the tree, which thou knowest that it [is] not a fruit-tree, it thou dost destroy, and hast cut down, and hast built a bulwark against the city which is making with thee war till thou hast subdued it.