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1 Samuel 15

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1 καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς Σαουλ ἐμὲ ἀπέστειλεν κύριος χρῖσαί σε εἰς βασιλέα ἐπὶ Ισραηλ καὶ νῦν ἄκουε τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου 2 τάδε εἶπεν κύριος σαβαωθ νῦν ἐκδικήσω ἃ ἐποίησεν Αμαληκ τῷ Ισραηλ ὡς ἀπήντησεν αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ἀναβαίνοντος αὐτοῦ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου 3 καὶ νῦν πορεύου καὶ πατάξεις τὸν Αμαληκ καὶ Ιεριμ καὶ πάντα τὰ αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ περιποιήσῃ ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξολεθρεύσεις αὐτὸν καὶ ἀναθεματιεῖς αὐτὸν καὶ πάντα τὰ αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ φείσῃ ἀ{P'} αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀποκτενεῖς ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς καὶ ἕως γυναικὸς καὶ ἀπὸ νηπίου ἕως θηλάζοντος καὶ ἀπὸ μόσχου ἕως προβάτου καὶ ἀπὸ καμήλου ἕως ὄνου 4 καὶ παρήγγειλεν Σαουλ τῷ λαῷ καὶ ἐπισκέπτεται αὐτοὺς ἐν Γαλγαλοις τετρακοσίας χιλιάδας ταγμάτων καὶ τὸν Ιουδαν τριάκοντα χιλιάδας ταγμάτων 5 καὶ ἦλθεν Σαουλ ἕως τῶν πόλεων Αμαληκ καὶ ἐνήδρευσεν ἐν τῷ χειμάρρῳ 6 καὶ εἶπεν Σαουλ πρὸς τὸν Κιναῖον ἄπελθε καὶ ἔκκλινον ἐκ μέσου τοῦ Αμαληκίτου μὴ προσθῶ σε με{T'} αὐτοῦ καὶ σὺ ἐποίησας ἔλεος μετὰ τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ ἐν τῷ ἀναβαίνειν αὐτοὺς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐξέκλινεν ὁ Κιναῖος ἐκ μέσου Αμαληκ 7 καὶ ἐπάταξεν Σαουλ τὸν Αμαληκ ἀπὸ Ευιλατ ἕως Σουρ ἐπὶ προσώπου Αἰγύπτου 8 καὶ συνέλαβεν τὸν Αγαγ βασιλέα Αμαληκ ζῶντα καὶ πάντα τὸν λαὸν Ιεριμ ἀπέκτεινεν ἐν στόματι ῥομφαίας 9 καὶ περιεποιήσατο Σαουλ καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς τὸν Αγαγ ζῶντα καὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῶν ποιμνίων καὶ τῶν βουκολίων καὶ τῶν ἐδεσμάτων καὶ τῶν ἀμπελώνων καὶ πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ οὐκ ἐβούλετο αὐτὰ ἐξολεθρεῦσαι καὶ πᾶν ἔργον ἠτιμωμένον καὶ ἐξουδενωμένον ἐξωλέθρευσαν

1 But Samuel reminded Saul, It was the Lord that gave me commission to anoint thee king of his people Israel; to his voice thou must needs listen. 2 And this is the message that comes to thee from the Lord of hosts: I have not forgotten how Amalec treated the Israelites, standing in their path when they were on the way here from Egypt. 3 This, then, is thy errand, to destroy Amalec and all his domains, granting no pardon, coveting no plunder, but slaying man and woman, child and infant at the breast, camel and ass. 4 Whereupon Saul summoned all his men to arms, and counted their muster as closely as a shepherd counts his lambs; two hundred thousand warriors, besides ten thousand from Juda. 5 With these, Saul marched to Amalec’s capital, and laid an ambush in the ravine there; 6 but first of all he warned the Cinites, Up, move your camping ground clear of the Amalecites; I would not involve you in their ruin; the men of Israel, on their way here from Egypt, had nothing but kindness from you. So the Cinites separated from Amalec, 7 and Saul routed the Amalecites, driving them before him all the way from Hevila to Sur, on the confines of Egypt. 8 He captured Agag, the Amalecite king, but although he put all the common folk to the sword, 9 he and his army spared Agag; spared, too, the best of the flocks and herds, the choicest garments, the fattest rams; they would not destroy anything that was precious. All that was mean and worthless they destroyed readily enough.

1 Et dixit Samuel ad Saul: Me misit Dominus ut ungerem te in regem super populum ejus Israël: nunc ergo audi vocem Domini. 2 Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum: Recensui quæcumque fecit Amalec Israëli: quomodo restitit ei in via cum ascenderet de Ægypto. 3 Nunc ergo vade, et percute Amalec, et demolire universa ejus: non parcas ei, et non concupiscas ex rebus ipsius aliquid, sed interfice a viro usque ad mulierem, et parvulum atque lactentem, bovem et ovem, camelum et asinum. 4 Præcepit itaque Saul populo, et recensuit eos quasi agnos: ducenta millia peditum, et decem millia virorum Juda. 5 Cumque venisset Saul usque ad civitatem Amalec, tetendit insidias in torrente. 6 Dixitque Saul Cinæo: Abite, recedite, atque descendite ab Amalec, ne forte involvam te cum eo: tu enim fecisti misericordiam cum omnibus filiis Israël, cum ascenderent de Ægypto. Et recessit Cinæus de medio Amalec. 7 Percussitque Saul Amalec ab Hevila donec venias ad Sur, quæ est e regione Ægypti. 8 Et apprehendit Agag regem Amalec vivum: omne autem vulgus interfecit in ore gladii. 9 Et pepercit Saul et populus Agag, et optimis gregibus ovium et armentorum, et vestibus et arietibus, et universis quæ pulchra erant, nec voluerunt disperdere ea: quidquid vero vile fuit et reprobum, hoc demoliti sunt.

10 καὶ ἐγενήθη ῥῆμα κυρίου πρὸς Σαμουηλ λέγων 11 παρακέκλημαι ὅτι ἐβασίλευσα τὸν Σαουλ εἰς βασιλέα ὅτι ἀπέστρεψεν ἀπὸ ὄπισθέν μου καὶ τοὺς λόγους μου οὐκ ἐτήρησεν καὶ ἠθύμησεν Σαμουηλ καὶ ἐβόησεν πρὸς κύριον ὅλην τὴν νύκτα 12 καὶ ὤρθρισεν Σαμουηλ καὶ ἐπορεύθη εἰς ἀπάντησιν Ισραηλ πρωί καὶ ἀπηγγέλη τῷ Σαμουηλ λέγοντες ἥκει Σαουλ εἰς Κάρμηλον καὶ ἀνέστακεν αὐτῷ χεῖρα καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν τὸ ἅρμα καὶ κατέβη εἰς Γαλγαλα πρὸς Σαουλ καὶ ἰδοὺ αὐτὸς ἀνέφερεν ὁλοκαύτωσιν τῷ κυρίῳ τὰ πρῶτα τῶν σκύλων ὧν ἤνεγκεν ἐξ Αμαληκ 13 καὶ παρεγένετο Σαμουηλ πρὸς Σαουλ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Σαουλ εὐλογητὸς σὺ τῷ κυρίῳ ἔστησα πάντα ὅσα ἐλάλησεν κύριος

10 And the Lord’s word came to Samuel, 11 I repent, now, of having made Saul king of Israel; he has played me false, and left my command unfulfilled. At this, Samuel was greatly moved, and all night long he pleaded with the Lord. 12 At early dawn he rose up, resolved to find Saul that same morning; Saul, he was told, upon reaching the town of Carmel,[1] had set up a monument there in his own honour, but had passed on now and made his way to Galgala. When Samuel reached it, he found Saul offering the Lord burnt-sacrifice, out of the first-fruits of the plunder taken from Amalec. 13 The Lord’s blessing on thee, was Saul’s greeting to him; I have fulfilled the divine command.

10 Factum est autem verbum Domini ad Samuel, dicens: 11 Pœnitet me quod constituerim Saul regem: quia dereliquit me, et verba mea opere non implevit. Contristatusque est Samuel, et clamavit ad Dominum tota nocte. 12 Cumque de nocte surrexisset Samuel ut iret ad Saul mane, nuntiatum est Samueli eo quod venisset Saul in Carmelum, et erexisset sibi fornicem triumphalem, et reversus transisset, descendissetque in Galgala. Venit ergo Samuel ad Saul, et Saul offerebat holocaustum Domino de initiis prædarum quæ attulerat ex Amalec. 13 Et cum venisset Samuel ad Saul, dixit ei Saul: Benedictus tu Domino: implevi verbum Domini.

14 καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ καὶ τίς ἡ φωνὴ τοῦ ποιμνίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ὠσίν μου καὶ φωνὴ τῶν βοῶν ὧν ἐγὼ ἀκούω 15 καὶ εἶπεν Σαουλ ἐξ Αμαληκ ἤνεγκα αὐτά ἃ περιεποιήσατο ὁ λαός τὰ κράτιστα τοῦ ποιμνίου καὶ τῶν βοῶν ὅπως τυθῇ τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ σου καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἐξωλέθρευσα 16 καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς Σαουλ ἄνες καὶ ἀπαγγελῶ σοι ἃ ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρός με τὴν νύκτα καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ λάλησον 17 καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς Σαουλ οὐχὶ μικρὸς σὺ εἶ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ἡγούμενος σκήπτρου φυλῆς Ισραηλ καὶ ἔχρισέν σε κύριος εἰς βασιλέα ἐπὶ Ισραηλ 18 καὶ ἀπέστειλέν σε κύριος ἐν ὁδῷ καὶ εἶπέν σοι πορεύθητι καὶ ἐξολέθρευσον τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας εἰς ἐμέ τὸν Αμαληκ καὶ πολεμήσεις αὐτούς ἕως συντελέσῃς αὐτούς 19 καὶ ἵνα τί οὐκ ἤκουσας τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου ἀλ{L'} ὥρμησας τοῦ θέσθαι ἐπὶ τὰ σκῦλα καὶ ἐποίησας τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιον κυρίου 20 καὶ εἶπεν Σαουλ πρὸς Σαμουηλ διὰ τὸ ἀκοῦσαί με τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ ἐπορεύθην ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἀπέστειλέν με κύριος καὶ ἤγαγον τὸν Αγαγ βασιλέα Αμαληκ καὶ τὸν Αμαληκ ἐξωλέθρευσα 21 καὶ ἔλαβεν ὁ λαὸς τῶν σκύλων ποίμνια καὶ βουκόλια τὰ πρῶτα τοῦ ἐξολεθρεύματος θῦσαι ἐνώπιον κυρίου θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἐν Γαλγαλοις 22 καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ εἰ θελητὸν τῷ κυρίῳ ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ θυσίαι ὡς τὸ ἀκοῦσαι φωνῆς κυρίου ἰδοὺ ἀκοὴ ὑπὲρ θυσίαν ἀγαθὴ καὶ ἡ ἐπακρόασις ὑπὲρ στέαρ κριῶν 23 ὅτι ἁμαρτία οἰώνισμά ἐστιν ὀδύνην καὶ πόνους θεραφιν ἐπάγουσιν ὅτι ἐξουδένωσας τὸ ῥῆμα κυρίου καὶ ἐξουδενώσει σε κύριος μὴ εἶναι βασιλέα ἐπὶ Ισραηλ

14 And this bleating of sheep, Samuel asked, that comes to my ears, this lowing of oxen that I hear? 15 Why, answered Saul, these are what they brought back from Amalec; my men saved the best out of flock and herd, to be offered in sacrifice to the Lord; all the rest we have destroyed. 16 May I tell thee, asked Samuel, the message the Lord has given me in the night? and when Saul bade him speak out, 17 he went on, It was little conceit thou hadst of thyself, when the tribes of Israel were committed to thy leadership. And the Lord anointed thee king of Israel, 18 and sent thee on an errand; Up, he said, destroy the sinful men of Amalec, smiting them down till none is left. 19 How is it thou didst not obey the Lord’s command? Why didst thou fall to plundering, in defiance of the Lord’s will? 20 Nay, protested Saul, obey the Lord I did; I went where the Lord’s errand took me, and brought back Agag, king of Amalec, in chains, and destroyed Amalec utterly. 21 If my men carried off sheep and oxen, these were but first-fruits that were saved from the slaughter of all the rest, to be offered up to the Lord their God here in Galgala. 22 What, said Samuel, thinkest thou the Lord’s favour can be won by offering him sacrifice and victim, instead of obeying his divine will? The Lord loves obedience better than any sacrifice, the attentive ear better than the fat of rams. 23 Rebellion is sin as witchcraft is sin, all one with idolatry is the unsubmissive heart. Thou hast revoked thy loyalty to the Lord, and he thy kingship.

14 Dixitque Samuel: Et quæ est hæc vox gregum, quæ resonat in auribus meis, et armentorum, quam ego audio? 15 Et ait Saul: De Amalec adduxerunt ea: pepercit enim populus melioribus ovibus et armentis ut immolarentur Domino Deo tuo, reliqua vero occidimus. 16 Ait autem Samuel ad Saul: Sine me, et indicabo tibi quæ locutus sit Dominus ad me nocte. Dixitque ei: Loquere. 17 Et ait Samuel: Nonne cum parvulus esses in oculis tuis, caput in tribubus Israël factus es? unxitque te Dominus in regem super Israël, 18 et misit te Dominus in viam, et ait: Vade, et interfice peccatores Amalec, et pugnabis contra eos usque ad internecionem eorum? 19 Quare ergo non audisti vocem Domini: sed versus ad prædam es, et fecisti malum in oculis Domini? 20 Et ait Saul ad Samuelem: Immo audivi vocem Domini, et ambulavi in via per quam misit me Dominus, et adduxi Agag regem Amalec, et Amalec interfeci. 21 Tulit autem de præda populus oves et boves, primitias eorum quæ cæsa sunt, ut immolet Domino Deo suo in Galgalis. 22 Et ait Samuel: Numquid vult Dominus holocausta et victimas, et non potius ut obediatur voci Domini? melior est enim obedientia quam victimæ, et auscultare magis quam offerre adipem arietum. 23 Quoniam quasi peccatum ariolandi est, repugnare: et quasi scelus idololatriæ, nolle acquiescere. Pro eo ergo quod abjecisti sermonem Domini, abjecit te Dominus ne sis rex.

24 καὶ εἶπεν Σαουλ πρὸς Σαμουηλ ἡμάρτηκα ὅτι παρέβην τὸν λόγον κυρίου καὶ τὸ ῥῆμά σου ὅτι ἐφοβήθην τὸν λαὸν καὶ ἤκουσα τῆς φωνῆς αὐτῶν 25 καὶ νῦν ἆρον δὴ τὸ ἁμάρτημά μου καὶ ἀνάστρεψον με{T'} ἐμοῦ καὶ προσκυνήσω κυρίῳ τῷ θεῷ σου 26 καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς Σαουλ οὐκ ἀναστρέφω μετὰ σοῦ ὅτι ἐξουδένωσας τὸ ῥῆμα κυρίου καὶ ἐξουδενώσει σε κύριος τοῦ μὴ εἶναι βασιλέα ἐπὶ τὸν Ισραηλ 27 καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν Σαμουηλ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀπελθεῖν καὶ ἐκράτησεν Σαουλ τοῦ πτερυγίου τῆς διπλοΐδος αὐτοῦ καὶ διέρρηξεν αὐτό 28 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν Σαμουηλ διέρρηξεν κύριος τὴν βασιλείαν Ισραηλ ἐκ χειρός σου σήμερον καὶ δώσει αὐτὴν τῷ πλησίον σου τῷ ἀγαθῷ ὑπὲρ σέ 29 καὶ διαιρεθήσεται Ισραηλ εἰς δύο καὶ οὐκ ἀποστρέψει οὐδὲ μετανοήσει ὅτι οὐχ ὡς ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν τοῦ μετανοῆσαι αὐτός 30 καὶ εἶπεν Σαουλ ἡμάρτηκα ἀλλὰ δόξασόν με δὴ ἐνώπιον πρεσβυτέρων Ισραηλ καὶ ἐνώπιον λαοῦ μου καὶ ἀνάστρεψον με{T'} ἐμοῦ καὶ προσκυνήσω τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ σου 31 καὶ ἀνέστρεψεν Σαμουηλ ὀπίσω Σαουλ καὶ προσεκύνησεν τῷ κυρίῳ

24 Then Saul confessed to Samuel, I have sinned; I have transgressed the Lord’s will and thy command; I was afraid of my own people, and humoured their desire. 25 Grant that sin forgiveness; let me have thy company, while I go back to pay the Lord worship. 26 Nay, answered Samuel, thou shalt have no company of mine; the Lord has revoked thy kingship over Israel, since thou hast revoked thy loyalty to him. 27 With that, Samuel turned to go, and the other caught him by the border of his cloak, which tore in his hand. 28 This day, Samuel told him, the Lord has torn away the kingship of Israel from thee, and given it to another and a better man than thyself. 29 He who wins victories for Israel does not spare, does not relent; not his to alter his purpose like mortal men.[2] 30 But Saul still pleaded with him, Guilty though I be, at least give me countenance before the elders of my people and before the men of Israel, by bearing me company as I go to worship. 31 Thereupon Samuel turned back and went with him, and worship he did.

24 Dixitque Saul ad Samuelem: Peccavi, quia prævaricatus sum sermonem Domini et verba tua, timens populum, et obediens voci eorum. 25 Sed nunc porta, quæso, peccatum meum, et revertere mecum, ut adorem Dominum. 26 Et ait Samuel ad Saul: Non revertar tecum, quia projecisti sermonem Domini, et projecit te Dominus ne sis rex super Israël. 27 Et conversus est Samuel ut abiret: ille autem apprehendit summitatem pallii ejus, quæ et scissa est. 28 Et ait ad eum Samuel: Scidit Dominus regnum Israël a te hodie, et tradidit illud proximo tuo meliori te. 29 Porro triumphator in Israël non parcet, et pœnitudine non flectetur: neque enim homo est ut agat pœnitentiam. 30 At ille ait: Peccavi: sed nunc honora me coram senioribus populi mei et coram Israël, et revertere mecum, ut adorem Dominum Deum tuum. 31 Reversus ergo Samuel secutus est Saulem: et adoravit Saul Dominum.

32 καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ προσαγάγετέ μοι τὸν Αγαγ βασιλέα Αμαληκ καὶ προσῆλθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν Αγαγ τρέμων καὶ εἶπεν Αγαγ εἰ οὕτως πικρὸς ὁ θάνατος 33 καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς Αγαγ καθότι ἠτέκνωσεν γυναῖκας ἡ ῥομφαία σου οὕτως ἀτεκνωθήσεται ἐκ γυναικῶν ἡ μήτηρ σου καὶ ἔσφαξεν Σαμουηλ τὸν Αγαγ ἐνώπιον κυρίου ἐν Γαλγαλ 34 καὶ ἀπῆλθεν Σαμουηλ εἰς Αρμαθαιμ καὶ Σαουλ ἀνέβη εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ εἰς Γαβαα 35 καὶ οὐ προσέθετο Σαμουηλ ἔτι ἰδεῖν τὸν Σαουλ ἕως ἡμέρας θανάτου αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐπένθει Σαμουηλ ἐπὶ Σαουλ καὶ κύριος μετεμελήθη ὅτι ἐβασίλευσεν τὸν Σαουλ ἐπὶ Ισραηλ

32 Then Samuel would have Agag, king of Amalec, brought into his presence; and he was brought in, gross of body and trembling with fear; A bitter parting, said he, is this of death.[3] 33 But Samuel told him, Many a woman that sword of thine has made childless, and now a childless woman thy own mother shall be; and he cut Agag to pieces, there in the Lord’s presence at Galgala. 34 So Samuel went back to Ramatha, and Saul to his home at Gabaa, 35 nor did Samuel, long as he lived, meet Saul again. But ever he lamented over him, that the Lord should have made him king of Israel, and afterwards revoked his kingship.

32 Dixitque Samuel: Adducite ad me Agag regem Amalec. Et oblatus est ei Agag, pinguissimus et tremens. Et dixit Agag: Siccine separat amara mors? 33 Et ait Samuel: Sicut fecit absque liberis mulieres gladius tuus, sic absque liberis erit inter mulieres mater tua. Et in frustra concidit eum Samuel coram Domino in Galgalis. 34 Abiit autem Samuel in Ramatha: Saul vero ascendit in domum suam in Gabaa. 35 Et non vidit Samuel ultra Saul usque ad diem mortis suæ: verumtamen lugebat Samuel Saulem, quoniam Dominum pœnitebat quod constituisset eum regem super Israël.

[1] A town near Hebron, quite unconnected with mount Carmel in the north; cf. 25.2.

[2] Samuel here rebukes the optimism of Saul (verse 25) by pointing out that God does not take rash decisions and then go back on them, as we men do. There is only a verbal contradiction between this theological statement of the case and the phrase ‘I repent’ used in verse 11 above; in verse 11 (as often in the Old Testament) the Divine attitude is loosely described in the language of ordinary human life.

[3] ‘A bitter parting is this of death’; literally, ‘Does bitter death so separate?’ The Hebrew text is generally interpreted as meaning ‘The bitterness of death has already been removed’.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd