Ngwa ne Baamaleki
1 Samuele wakadwa Saulo kati, “Ndimi wakatumwa ndi Yahwe kuti ndikuzhodze ube mambo we bathu babo Baiziraela, ndizo ngwenu teedza matama anodwa kuna Yahwe. 2 Etji nditjo tjinolebgwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu Masimbawose beti, ‘Ndowoloba Baamaleki shamu muna zwabakathamila Baiziraela, bebadzibilidza mu zila pabakabe bedwa ku Egipiti. 3 Yenda unobulaya Baamaleki, ubalobese na zose zwabanazo, kusibe ne tjaungasiya, ubulaye balume ne bakadzi ne bana ne shabana, kose ng'ombe ne pkhwizi ne kamela ne madonki.’ ” 4 Ndizo Saulo kadana bathu, kababalila mu Telaimu, bakaswika babhayani banoyenda nge makumbo bali zwiwulu zwili mazana mabili (200 000) ne bali mazana ali gumi be Juda. 5 Saulo kayenda ku nzi we Baamaleki kabalalela mu nkuku. 6 Ndizo Saulo kadwa Bakeni kati, “Idwani ipapa! Mudwe pakati kwe Baamaleki, kuti ndisidwe ndimulobeselanya nabo, ngobe makalakidza buthu mu bathu bose be Iziraela pabakabe bedwa mu Egipiti.” Ndizo Bakeni bakabhuda mu Baamaleki. 7 Saulo kanginilila Baamaleki kudwa ku Havilaya kunoti ku Shuru, ku bhezhuba kwe Egipiti. 8 Wakatola Agagi mambo we Baamaleki ali mpenyu, koga kalobesa bathu babe bose ebatema nge bukanu. 9 Saulo ne ikwata bakasiya Agagi, ne pkhwizi dzakanaka ne ng'ombe ne zwikondolo zwakakodziwa ne pkhwizana na zose zwakabe zwili zwakanaka, zwikasikolomogwe tjoselele. Koga zose zwakabe zwisogwa, zwibong'wa zwisi zwetjimwe zwakakolomogwa tjoselele.
Saulo unolambiwa kube mambo
10 Dama la Yahwe lakazha kuna Samuele liti: 11 “Ndohwa zogwadza kwandakathama Saulo mambo, ngobe wakandishandukila, kakale aazolondolodza ndaulo dzangu.” Samuele wakagwadza moyo, ka lilila kuna Yahwe busiku gose. 12 Samuele wakabinduka mangwanana enoshanganidza Saulo, ngono kadwiwa kuyi, “Saulo wakayenda ku Karimeli, kwaakabiga ifano tje kuzwipundumadza, ngono wakashanduka kadelukila ku Giligala.” 13 Kwakati Samuele eswika kuna Saulo, Saulo kan'dwa kati, “Yahwe ngabakukombolele, ndakalondolodza ndaulo ya Yahwe.” 14 Samuele kabhuzwa kati, “Edze pkhwizi ne ng'ombe dzandinohwa dzilila ndedzeni?” 15 Saulo kashandula eti, “Babhayani bakazha nadzo bedwa ku Baamaleki, ngobe bakasiya pkhwizi ne ng'ombe dzakanaka kwazo, kuti kupisigwe Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu tjibhayilo, koga zwimwe takazwilobesa zose.”
16 Ndizo Samuele kadwa Saulo kati, “Ima! Ndowokubudza Yahwe tjabalala balebeleka nami busiku.”
Saulo kashandula eti, “Undibudze.”
17 Samuele kabe eti, “Nakuto iwe uzwisola, apa auteli nsholo we njudzi dze Baiziraela kene? Yahwe bakakuzhodza kube mambo we Baiziraela. 18 Kakale Yahwe bakakutuma, bakakudwa bakati, ‘Yenda, unolobesa bathu ibabaje babiibi, Baamaleki, ugwe nabo kudzina befa bepela.’ 19 Apa hwutini usakahwilila Yahwe kene? Apa hwutini wakatizhilila kutola zojiwa zwakatapiwa, ubuya uthama bubi mbeli kwa Yahwe kene?”
20 Saulo kashandula Samuele eti, “Ndakahwilila hwi la Yahwe, ayenda kwa bakandituma. Ndakalobesa Baamaleki bose abuya na Agagi mambo wabo. 21 Koga mu zojiwa zwakatapiwa babhayani bakatola pkhwizi ne ng'ombe zwakanaka, zwabakada kuzwipisila Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu tjibhayilo ku Giligala.”
22 Ndizo Samuele kabhuzwa kati, “Apa Yahwe bangashathisiwa ngopisigwa zwibhayilo ne zwipo, sekwa kungahwiwa hwi la Yahwe kene? Ndolebesa, kuhwa ndayilo kopinda kupisa tjibhayilo. Koita kuhwa Yahwe kupinda kubapisila mafuta e nyundo.
23 “Tjibi tje kupanduka atjitoita pa buloyi, ne mazwikudzo anofanana ne mbipo ye kuthigamila midzimu. Ngobe wakalamba dama la Yahwe, bakakulambabo kuti ube mambo.”
24 Saulo kashandula Samuele kati, “Ndakathama tjibi, ngobe ndakapandukila ndaulo ya Yahwe namwi asimuhwilile, ngobe ndakatja bathu azwipa mubali. 25 Ndizo ngwenu, ndomukumbila, mundizwiibhatigwe jinyo langu, mushanduke nami ndinonamata Yahwe.”
26 Samuele kan'dwa kati, “Anditowoshanduka nawe, ngobe wakalamba dama la Yahwe, na Yahwe bakalamba kuti ube mambo we Iziraela.”
27 Kwakati Samuele etendebuka eti unoyenda, Saulo kambata nge mpeto we tjiambalo tjitje, tjikapaluka. 28 Samuele kan'dwa kati, “Yahwe bapalula bushe gwe Iziraela nasi, bagudusa mu kuli, bagupa mmwe we ikamu tjitjo, unoyita pakuli. 29 Ibo ba Gudzo le Iziraela abatonyepa naiko abangashandule nkumbulo wabo, ngobe ibo abateli nthu, kwabangashandula nkumbulo wabo.”
30 Saulo kabe eti, “Ndakatjinya, ngono ndokumbila, mundikudze mbeli kwe batungamili be bathu bangu na mbeli kwe Iziraela, mubuye mushanduke nami, kuti ndinamate Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu.”
31 Samuele kashanduka na Saulo, Saulo kanamata Yahwe. 32 Ndizo Samuele kabe eti, “Mundizhisile Mambo Agagi we Baamaleki.” Agagi kazha kunli ana ganyu eti, “Tjoselele, kugwadza kwe lufu kwapinda.”
33 Ngono Samuele kati, “Sekwa bukanu gugo gwakathama bakadzi bobankulugwa, ndizo na mmeyabo banowobe bankulugwa pakati kwe bakadzi.” Ngono Samuele katemelela Agagi mbeli kwa Yahwe mu Giligala.
34 Samuele kamilika kayenda ku Rama, Saulo kayenda ku nzi uwe ku Gibiya. 35 Samuele aazotongo bona Saulo kuswikila efa, ali mu kuhwa zogwaza ngekwa Saulo. Ngono Yahwe bakahwa zogwadza kube bakathama Saulo mambo we Iziraela.
Saul Disobeys the Lord
1 One day, Samuel told Saul:
The Lord told me to choose you to be king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the Lord: 2 “When the Israelites were on their way out of Egypt, the nation of Amalek attacked them. I am the Lord All-Powerful, and now I am going to make Amalek pay!
3 “Go and attack the Amalekites! Destroy them and all their possessions. Don't have any pity. Kill their men, women, children, and even their babies. Slaughter their cattle, sheep, camels, and donkeys.”
4 Saul sent messengers who told every town and village to send men to join the army at Telaim. There were 210,000 troops in all, and 10,000 of these were from Judah. Saul organized them, 5 then led them to a valley near one of the towns in Amalek, where they got ready to make a surprise attack. 6 Some Kenites lived nearby, and Saul told them, “Your people were kind to our nation when we left Egypt, and I don't want you to get killed when I wipe out the Amalekites. So stay away from them.”
The Kenites left, 7 and Saul attacked the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur, which is just east of Egypt. 8 Every Amalekite was killed except King Agag. 9 Saul and his army let Agag live, and they also spared the best sheep and cattle. They didn't want to destroy anything of value, so they only killed the animals that were worthless or weak.
The Lord Rejects Saul
10 The Lord told Samuel, 11 “Saul has stopped obeying me, and I'm sorry that I made him king.”
Samuel was angry, and he cried out in prayer to the Lord all night. 12 Early the next morning he went to talk with Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to Carmel, where he had a monument built so everyone would remember his victory. Then he left for Gilgal.”
13 Samuel finally caught up with Saul, and Saul told him, “I hope the Lord will bless you! I have done what the Lord told me.”
14 “Then why,” Samuel asked, “do I hear sheep and cattle?”
15 “The army took them from the Amalekites,” Saul explained. “They kept the best sheep and cattle, so they could sacrifice them to the Lord your God. But we destroyed everything else.”
16 “Stop!” Samuel said. “Let me tell you what the Lord told me last night.”
“All right,” Saul answered.
17 Samuel continued, “You may not think you're very important, but the Lord chose you to be king, and you are in charge of the tribes of Israel. 18 When the Lord sent you on this mission, he told you to wipe out those worthless Amalekites. 19 Why didn't you listen to the Lord? Why did you keep the animals and make him angry?”
20 “But I did listen to the Lord!” Saul answered. “He sent me on a mission, and I went. I captured King Agag and destroyed his nation. 21 All the animals were going to be destroyed anyway. That's why the army brought the best sheep and cattle to Gilgal as sacrifices to the Lord your God.”
22 “Tell me,” Samuel said. “Does the Lord really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn't want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey him. 23 Rebelling against God or disobeying him because you are proud is just as bad as worshiping idols or asking them for advice. You refused to do what God told you, so God has decided that you can no longer be king.”
24 “I have sinned,” Saul admitted. “I disobeyed both you and the Lord. I was afraid of the army, and I listened to them instead. 25 Please forgive me and come back with me so I can worship the Lord.”
26 “No!” Samuel replied, “You disobeyed the Lord, and I won't go back with you. Now the Lord has said that you can't be king of Israel any longer.”
27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the edge of Samuel's robe. It tore! 28 Samuel said, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today, and he will give it to someone who is better than you. 29 Besides, the eternal God of Israel isn't a human being. He doesn't tell lies or change his mind.”
30 Saul said, “I did sin, but please honor me in front of the leaders of the army and the people of Israel. Come back with me, so I can worship the Lord your God.”
31 Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord. 32 Then Samuel shouted, “Bring me King Agag of Amalek!”
Agag came in chains, and he was saying to himself, “Surely they won't kill me now.”
33 But Samuel said, “Agag, you have snatched children from their mothers' arms and killed them. Now your mother will be without children.” Then Samuel chopped Agag to pieces at the place of worship in Gilgal.
34 Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his home in Gibeah. 35 Even though Samuel felt sad about Saul, Samuel never saw him again.
The Lord Chooses David To Be King
The Lord was sorry he had made Saul the king of Israel.