1Samuel:15-16

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* Samuel also 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 . * Thus saith the LORD of hosts , I remember that which Amalek did to Israel , how he laid wait for him in the way , when he came up from Egypt . * Now 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 . * And Saul gathered the people together , and numbered them in Telaim , two hundred thousand footmen , and ten thousand men of Judah . * And Saul came to a city of Amalek , and laid wait in the valley . * And Saul said unto the Kenites , Go , depart , get you down from among the Amalekites , lest I destroy you with them : for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel , when they came up out of Egypt . So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites . * And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur , that is over against Egypt . * And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive , and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword . * But Saul and the people spared Agag , and the best of the sheep , and of the oxen , and of the fatlings , and the lambs , and all that was good , and would not utterly destroy them : but every thing that was vile and refuse , that they destroyed utterly . * Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel , saying , * 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 . * And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning , it was told Samuel , saying , Saul came to Carmel , and , behold , he set him up a place , and is gone about , and passed on , and gone down to Gilgal . * And Samuel came to Saul : and Saul said unto him , Blessed be thou of the LORD : I have performed the commandment of the LORD . * And Samuel said , What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears , and the lowing of the oxen which I hear ? * And 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 . * Then 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 . * And Samuel said , When thou wast little in thine own sight , wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel , and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel ? * And 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 . * Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD , but didst fly upon the spoil , and didst evil in the sight of the LORD ? * And Saul said unto Samuel , Yea , I have obeyed 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 . * But the people took of the spoil , sheep and oxen , the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed , to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal . * And Samuel said , Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices , as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? Behold , to obey is better than sacrifice , and to hearken than the fat of rams . * For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft , and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry . Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD , he hath also rejected thee from being king . * And 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 obeyed their voice . * Now therefore , I pray thee , pardon my sin , and turn again with me , that I may worship the LORD . * And 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 . * And as Samuel turned about to go away , he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle , and it rent . * And 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 . * And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent : for he is not a man , that he should repent . * Then he said , I have sinned : yet honour me now , I pray thee , before the elders of my people , and before Israel , and turn again with me , that I may worship the LORD thy God . * So Samuel turned again after Saul ; and Saul worshipped the LORD . * Then said Samuel , Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites . And Agag came unto him delicately . And Agag said , Surely the bitterness of death is past . * And 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 . * Then Samuel went to Ramah ; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul . * And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death : nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul : and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel . * And the LORD said unto Samuel , How long wilt thou mourn for Saul , seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel ? fill thine horn with oil , and go , I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite : for I have provided me a king among his sons . * And Samuel said , How can I go ? if Saul hear it , he will kill me . And the LORD said , Take an heifer with thee , and say , I am come to sacrifice to the LORD . * And call Jesse to the sacrifice , and I will shew thee what thou shalt do : and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee . * And Samuel did that which the LORD spake , and came to Bethlehem . And the elders of the town trembled at his coming , and said , Comest thou peaceably ? * And 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 . * And it came to pass , when they were come , that he looked on Eliab , and said , Surely the LORD 'S anointed is before him . * But the LORD said unto Samuel , Look not on his countenance , or on the height of his stature ; because I have refused him : for the LORD seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh on the outward appearance , but the LORD looketh on the heart . * Then Jesse called Abinadab , and made him pass before Samuel . And he said , Neither hath the LORD chosen this . * Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by . And he said , Neither hath the LORD chosen this . * Again , Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel . And Samuel said unto Jesse , The LORD hath not chosen these . * And 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 . * And he sent , and brought him in . Now he was ruddy , and withal of a beautiful countenance , and goodly to look to . And the LORD said , Arise , anoint him : for this is he . * Then Samuel took the horn of oil , and anointed him in the midst of his brethren : and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward . So Samuel rose up , and went to Ramah . * But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul , and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him . * And Saul 's servants said unto him , Behold now , an evil spirit from God troubleth thee . * Let our lord now command thy servants , which are before thee , to seek out a man , who is a cunning player on an harp : and it shall come to pass , when the evil spirit from God is upon thee , that he shall play with his hand , and thou shalt be well . * And Saul said unto his servants , Provide me now a man that can play well , and bring him to me . * Then answered one of the servants , and said , Behold , I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite , that is cunning in playing , and a mighty valiant man , and a man of war , and prudent in matters , and a comely person , and the LORD is with him . * Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse , and said , Send me David thy son , which is with the sheep . * And Jesse took an ass laden with bread , and a bottle of wine , and a kid , and sent them by David his son unto Saul . * And David came to Saul , and stood before him : and he loved him greatly ; and he became his armourbearer . * And Saul sent to Jesse , saying , Let David , I pray thee , stand before me ; for he hath found favour in my sight . * And it came to pass , when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul , that David took an harp , and played with his hand : so Saul was refreshed , and was well , and the evil spirit departed from him . * Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle , and were gathered together at Shochoh , which belongeth to Judah , and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah , in Ephesdammim .

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