10. The Lord said to Samuel,
11. “I am sorry that I made Saul king; he has turned away from me and disobeyed my commands.” Samuel was angry, and all night long he pleaded with the Lord.
12. Early the following morning he went off to find Saul. He heard that Saul had gone to the town of Carmel, where he had built a monument to himself, and then had gone on to Gilgal.
13. Samuel went up to Saul, who greeted him, saying, “The Lord bless you, Samuel! I have obeyed the Lord's command.”
14. Samuel asked, “Why, then, do I hear cattle mooing and sheep bleating?”
15. Saul answered, “My men took them from the Amalekites. They kept the best sheep and cattle to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have destroyed completely.” and had to be destroyed (see Lev 27.28).
16. “Stop,” Samuel ordered, “and I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”“Tell me,” Saul said.
17. Samuel answered, “Even though you consider yourself of no importance, you are the leader of the tribes of Israel. The Lord anointed you king of Israel,
18. and he sent you out with orders to destroy those wicked people of Amalek. He told you to fight until you had killed them all.