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15 ‎[1] **Samuel said to Saul: The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel. **You do not rule by your own right, but as God’s emissary;** now, heed the sound of the words of the Lord.**** **
‎[2] **So said the Lord of hosts: I have remembered that which Amalek did to Israel, that it situated itself **in ambush and waged war against Israel **on the way, when it came up from Egypt.** This eternal remembrance of Amalek is mentioned in the Torah as well.** **
‎[3] **Now, go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy everything that it has; do not have pity on it; you shall put to death both men and women, both infants and suckling babes, both oxen and sheep, both camels and donkeys. **Nothing of Amalek may remain, in accordance with the commandment: “You shall expunge the memory of Amalek from under the heavens.”
‎[4] **Saul summoned the people,**** and he counted them in Tela’im, **the name of a place or a region. Alternatively, he counted them using lambs [*tela’im*]; each person gave a lamb, so that the lambs could be counted instead of the people. The tally was **two hundred thousand infantrymen **from tribes other than Judah **and ten thousand men of Judah.**** **
‎[5] **Saul came to the **main** city of Amalek,**** and he attacked in the ravine **near the city.** **
‎[6] **Saul said to the Kenite,**** **the tribe of Yitro’s descendants:** Go, withdraw and come down, **distance yourselves,** from the midst of the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them **during the battle, a result that I do not want, **and you, **your forefather Yitro,** acted with kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up from Egypt. The Kenites withdrew from the midst of Amalek. **
‎[7] **Saul smote Amalek from Havila as you come to Shur,**** which is before Egypt. **Apparently, Amalek had become a large people during this period, and was scattered over vast areas in the southern Negev and perhaps even in modern-day Jordan.** **
‎[8] **He, **Saul,** apprehended Agag king of Amalek, **took him** **captive,** alive, but all the people he utterly destroyed by sword, **as Samuel had commanded him.** **
‎[9] **Saul and the people spared Agag. **It is unclear what unique quality of Agag caused Saul’s men to spare him; perhaps they were impressed by his fighting in battle.** And **they also spared **the best of the flocks, the cattle, the second best, **or the second-best sheep and oxen, or the fat ones;** the fatted sheep, and all that was good, and they were unwilling to destroy them, **even though they were commanded to destroy everything.** But all the spurned and contemptible **animals, produce, or other** property** of little value, **that they utterly destroyed. **
‎[10] **The word of the Lord was to Samuel, saying: **
‎[11] **I have regretted**** that I crowned Saul as king, because he has turned from following Me, **he has not followed Me,** and did not fulfill My words. Samuel was distressed,**** and he cried out, **implored and argued **to the Lord all night. **
‎[12] Nevertheless,** Samuel arose early in the morning to meet Saul. **It seems he did not reveal his feelings and his inner turmoil at all; he was quick to fulfill his duty.** It was told to Samuel, saying: Saul came to Carmel, **a locale in the south of the land of Judah, **and behold, he is establishing for himself a monument**** **for the great victory over Amalek.** He, **Samuel,** turned and passed, and descended to Gilgal. **
‎[13] **Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him: Blessed are you to the Lord, **welcome;** I have fulfilled the word of the Lord. **I have waged war against and defeated Amalek.** **
‎[14] **Samuel said: But what is this sound of the flocks in my ears, and the sound of the cattle that I hear? **Where do all these animals that I hear come from?** **
‎[15] **Saul said: They brought them from the Amalekites; as the people spared the best of the flocks and the cattle, **not for plunder, but rather** in order** **to present offerings to the Lord your God.**** **The people spared some of the animals because they preferred to use them for offerings rather than just to kill them.** But the rest we utterly destroyed. **Saul justified their actions by saying that even if they did not fully obey the instructions, their intentions were for the sake of Heaven.
‎[16] **Samuel said to Saul: Desist, **allow me, or: Stop giving excuses, **and I will tell you that which the Lord spoke to me this night. He, **Saul,** said to him: Speak. **
‎[17] **Samuel said: Truly, although you are small in your eyes, **and therefore you are not firm enough, **you are **still** the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you as king over Israel. **Even according to your justification that the breach was not your initiative, but rather you succumbed to the people’s pressure, you are still responsible, as you are the leader and the mission was given to you. Do not excuse your behavior by citing the wishes of others.
‎[18] **The Lord sent you upon a path, **a specific task, **and He said: Go and utterly destroy the sinners, Amalek, and make war against it until you, **Israel, **annihilate them.**
‎[19] **Why did you not heed the voice of the Lord? You pounced upon the spoils, and you did evil in the eyes of the Lord. **
‎[20] **Saul **immediately **said to Samuel **in protest:** Indeed, I heeded the voice of the Lord, and I went on the path that the Lord sent me. **I obeyed God’s command by initiating a war against Amalek, even though they were not currently preparing to attack Israel.** And I** **brought Agag king of Amalek **as a captive,** and I utterly destroyed Amalek, **as you commanded. This was an absolute victory.** **
‎[21] **The people took from the spoils, flocks, and cattle, the choicest** **of the proscribed, **the spoils, **to present offerings to the Lord your God in Gilgal. **We completed the mission; we won the war and killed the entire nation. The men simply thought it was preferable to make use of these animals.** **
‎[22] **Samuel said: Does the Lord desire burnt offerings and feast offerings like **He desires** heeding the voice of the Lord? **The value of sacrificing offerings cannot be compared to the importance of listening to God; whereas fulfilling God’s command is mandatory, offerings have no inherent value, and God does not need them. **Behold, to obey is better than a fine offering, and to heed **God is better **than the fat of rams. **
‎[23] **For the sin of sorcery is defiance. **Like sorcery,** **the severity of your sin is due not to the act itself but rather to the rebelliousness inherent in disobeying God’s command. **And wrongdoing, **futility or sin;** and teraphim, **household idols,** are **your **stubbornness.**** **Your excuses and your refusal to admit your sin** **are as** **grave a sin as idolatry. Some commentaries explain that the common denominator of sorcery, idolatry, and Saul’s sin is a lack of complete trust in God.** Because you spurned the word of the Lord, **you disobeyed Him and followed the will of the people or your own will, **He has spurned you as king. **As far as God is concerned you are no longer the chosen king; although you are still in power, you are now like any other person.** **
‎[24] **Saul said to Samuel: I have sinned, for I violated the directive of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people, and I heeded their voice. **Similar occurrences transpired previously as well where Saul was subject to pressure from the people (see 10:27, 13:14).
‎[25] **Now please, forgive my sin, and return with me, and I will prostrate myself before the Lord **with you, so that people will see that you still support me.** **
‎[26] **Samuel said to Saul: I will not return with you, as you spurned the word of the Lord, and the Lord has spurned you from being king over Israel. **
‎[27] **Samuel turned to go, and he, **Saul,** seized the edge of his, **Samuel’s,** robe **in order to impede him,** and it tore** as a result of Saul’s pulling it.** **
‎[28] **Samuel said to him: **This tear symbolizes that **the Lord has torn the kingship of Israel from you today, and has given it to your counterpart, who is better than you. **
‎[29] **Moreover, the Eternity of Israel, **God,** will not lie and will not regret, **change His mind, after stating to you that you have lost your status. You cannot appease Him and request that He retract His decision,** as He is not **like **a man that regrets. **
‎[30] **He, **Saul,** said **again:** I have sinned; **I accept the reproach and the decree. **Now please, honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, and I will prostrate myself before the Lord your God. **Please come with me to pray and bring an offering, so that at least it will not publicly appear that you are abandoning me. Otherwise, the private prophecy that you related to me will be misunderstood by the people as a tragic event.** **
‎[31] Although Samuel had already turned to leave, he acquiesced to Saul’s pleading. **Samuel returned, following Saul, and Saul prostrated himself before the Lord. **Although Samuel did not retract his statement, he agreed to Saul’s request to prevent his humiliation.
‎[32] **Samuel said: Bring to me Agag king of Amalek. **Samuel wanted to finish the job. **Agag went to him falteringly [*****ma’adanot*****].** Other commentaries explain that Agag came to him in chains. This interpretation is based on transposing the letters of the word *ma’adanot*, from *ayin*-*dalet*-*nun* to *ayin*-*nun*-*dalet*, meaning chained. Other commentaries say Agag came proudly.** Agag said: Indeed, the bitterness of death is at hand.** He understood that Samuel intended to kill him immediately.** **
‎[33] **Samuel said: Just** **as your sword rendered women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. **You have no legitimate claim in your defense. **Samuel slashed** **Agag before the Lord in Gilgal. **Samuel did not kill Agag in an honorable way, but in the manner in which wild animals are exterminated.
‎[34] **Samuel went to Rama, **his home,** and Saul went up to his house in Givat Shaul. **
‎[35] **Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his, **Samuel’s,** death,** **as Samuel mourned for Saul,**** **not because he was angry with Saul; **but the Lord regretted that He had crowned Saul king over Israel. **
Version: The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-steinsaltz-tanakh/products/steinsaltz-tanakh
License: Copyright: Steinsaltz Center