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Yehova Akana Sauli Kukhala Mfumu

15 Samueli anawuza Sauli kuti, “Yehova anandituma ine kuti ndikudzozeni kukhala mfumu ya anthu ake, Aisraeli. Tsopano imvani zimene Yehova akunena. Yehova Wamphamvuzonse akuti, ‘Ine ndidzalanga Aamaleki chifukwa cha zimene anawachita Aisraeli. Paja iwo analimbana ndi Aisraeli pa njira pamene Aisraeliwo ankachoka ku Igupto. Tsopano pita kathire nkhondo Aamaleki ndi kuwononga kwathunthu zinthu zonse zimene ali nazo. Musakasiyeko munthu ndi mmodzi yemwe. Mukaphe amuna ndi akazi, ana ndi makanda, ngʼombe ndi nkhosa, ngamira ndi abulu.’ ”

Kotero Sauli anayitana ankhondo ake nawawerenga ku Telaimu. Ankhondo oyenda pansi analipo 200,000 ndipo mwa iwowa 10,000 anali a fuko la Yuda. Sauli anapita ku mzinda wa Aamaleki nawubisalira mʼkhwawa. Tsono Sauli anawuza Akeni kuti, “Samukani, muchoke pakati pa Aamaleki kuti ine ndisakuwonongeni pamodzi ndi iwo pakuti inu munaonetsa kukoma mtima kwa Aisraeli onse pamene ankatuluka mʼdziko la Igupto,” Choncho Akeni anachoka pakati pa Aamaleki.

Tsono Sauli anakantha Aamaleki kuchokera ku Havila mpaka ku Suri, kummawa kwa Igupto. Sauli anatenga Agagi mfumu ya Aamaleki, koma anthu ake onse anawapha ndi lupanga. Koma Sauli ndi ankhondo ake sanaphe Agagi, sanaphenso nkhosa ndi ngʼombe zabwino ngakhalenso ana angʼombe ndi ana ankhosa onenepa. Chilichonse chimene chinali chabwino sanachiphe. Koma zonse zimene zinali zoyipa ndi zachabechabe anaziwononga.

10 Kenaka Yehova anawuza Samueli kuti, 11 “Ine ndikumva chisoni chifukwa ndinayika Sauli kukhala mfumu. Wabwerera mʼmbuyo, waleka kunditsata ndipo sanamvere malangizo anga.” Samueli anapsa mtima, ndipo analira kwa Yehova usiku wonse.

12 Samueli anadzuka mmamawa ndipo anapita kukakumana ndi Sauli. Koma anthu anamuwuza kuti, “Sauli anabwera ku Karimeli, ndipo kumeneko wadziyimikira mwala wachikumbutso cha iye mwini. Tsopano wachokako ndipo wapita ku Giligala.”

13 Samueli atamupeza Sauli, Sauliyo anati kwa Samueli, “Yehova akudalitseni! Ndachita zonse zimene Yehova analamula.”

14 Koma Samueli anati, “Nanga bwanji ndikumva kulira kwa nkhosa ndi ngʼombe?”

15 Sauli anayankha, “Zimenezi Asilikali azitenga kuchokera kwa Aamaleki. Iwo anasungako nkhosa ndi ngʼombe zabwino kuti akapereke nsembe kwa Yehova Mulungu wanu, koma zina zonse anaziwononga.”

16 Koma Samueli anati kwa Sauli, “Khala chete! Ima ndikuwuze zimene Yehova wandiwuza usiku wathawu.”

Sauli anayankha kuti, “Ndiwuzeni.”

17 Apo Samueli anati, “Munali wamngʼono pa maso pa anthu, koma tsopano mwasanduka mtsogoleri wa mafuko a Israeli. Yehova anakudzozani kuti mukhale mfumu yolamulira Aisraeli. 18 Ndipo Yehova anakutumani kuti, ‘Pitani mukawononge kwathunthu Aamaleki, anthu oyipa aja. Mukachite nawo nkhondo mpaka kuwatheratu.’ 19 Chifukwa chiyani simunamvere mawu a Yehova? Chifukwa chiyani munathamangira zofunkha ndi kuchita choyipira Yehova?”

20 Koma Saulo anawuza Samueli kuti, “Ine ndinamveradi mawu a Yehova. Ndinapita kukachita zimene Yehova anandituma. Ndinabwera naye Agagi, mfumu ya Amaleki, koma Aamaleki ena onse anaphedwa. 21 Koma pa zofunkhazo anthu anatengapo nkhosa, ngʼombe ndi zabwino zina zoyenera kuwonongedwa kuti akapereke ngati nsembe kwa Yehova Mulungu wanu ku Giligala.”

22 Koma Samueli anayankha kuti,

“Kodi Yehova amakondwera ndi nsembe zopsereza ndi nsembe zina
    kapena kumvera mawu a ake?
Taona, kumvera ndi kwabwino kuposa nsembe,
    ndipo kutchera khutu ndi kwabwino kuposa kupereka mafuta a nkhosa.
23 Pakuti kuwukira kuli ngati tchimo lowombeza,
    ndipo kukhala nkhutukumve kuli ngati tchimo lopembedza mafano.
Chifukwa mwakana mawu a Yehova.
    Iyenso wakukana kuti iweyo ukhale mfumu.”

24 Tsono Sauli anati kwa Samueli, “Ine ndachimwa. Ndaphwanya malamulo a Yehova ndiponso malangizo anu. Ndinkaopa anthu ndipo ndinawamvera. 25 Tsopano ndikukupemphani, khululukireni tchimo langa ndipo mubwerere nane kuti ndikapembedze Yehova.”

26 Koma Samueli anawuza Sauli kuti, “Ine sindibwerera nawe. Inu mwakana mawu a Yehova. Choncho Iyenso wakukanani kuti musakhale mfumu yolamulira Aisraeli.”

27 Samueli akutembenuka kuti azipita, Sauli anagwira mpendero wa mkanjo wake, ndipo unangʼambika. 28 Samueli anati kwa iye, “Yehova wangʼamba ufumu wanu kuchoka kwa inu, ndipo waupereka kwa mnzanu woposa inu. 29 Mulungu wa ulemerero wa Israeli sanama kapena kusintha maganizo ake; pakuti iye si munthu, kuti asinthe maganizo ake.”

30 Sauli anati, “Ine ndachimwa. Komabe, chonde mundilemekeze pamaso pa akuluakulu, anthu anga, ndiponso pamaso pa Israeli. Mubwerere nane kuti ndikapembedze Yehova Mulungu wanu.” 31 Pamenepo Samueli anabwerera ndi Sauli, ndipo Sauli anapembedza Yehova.

32 Kenaka Samueli anati, “Bwera nayeni kuno Agagi, mfumu ya Amaleki ija.”

Choncho Agagi anapita kwa Samueli mokondwa chifukwa ankaganiza kuti, “Ndithu zowawa za imfa zapita.”

33 Koma Samueli anati,

“Monga momwe lupanga lako linasandutsira amayi kukhala wopanda ana,
    momwemonso amayi ako adzakhala opanda mwana pakati pa amayi.”

Ndipo Samueli anapha Agagi pamaso pa Yehova ku Giligala.

34 Ndipo Samueli anapita ku Rama, koma Sauli anapita ku mudzi kwawo ku Gibeya wa Sauli. 35 Samueli sanamuonenso Sauli mpaka imfa yake ngakhale kuti ankamulira Sauliyo. Yehova anamva chisoni kuti anasankha Sauli kuti akhale mfumu ya Israeli.

The Lord Rejects Saul as King

15 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint(A) you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites(B) for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally(C) destroy[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. Then he said to the Kenites,(D) “Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

Then Saul attacked the Amalekites(E) all the way from Havilah to Shur,(F) near the eastern border of Egypt. He took Agag(G) king of the Amalekites alive,(H) and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared(I) Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves[b] and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret(J) that I have made Saul king, because he has turned(K) away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”(L) Samuel was angry,(M) and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel.(N) There he has set up a monument(O) in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.”

13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.”

14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”

15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”

16 “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”

“Tell me,” Saul replied.

17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small(P) in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder(Q) and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”

20 “But I did obey(R) the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

22 But Samuel replied:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,(S)
    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,(T)
    and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected(U) the word of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.”

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned.(V) I violated(W) the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid(X) of the men and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive(Y) my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”

26 But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected(Z) the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!”

27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe,(AA) and it tore.(AB) 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn(AC) the kingdom(AD) of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.(AE) 29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie(AF) or change(AG) his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.”

30 Saul replied, “I have sinned.(AH) But please honor(AI) me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.”

Agag came to him in chains.[c] And he thought, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”

33 But Samuel said,

“As your sword has made women childless,
    so will your mother be childless among women.”(AJ)

And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel left for Ramah,(AK) but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah(AL) of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel(AM) died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned(AN) for him. And the Lord regretted(AO) that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 15:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20 and 21.
  2. 1 Samuel 15:9 Or the grown bulls; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  3. 1 Samuel 15:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.