Et dixit Samuel ad Saul: Me misit Dominus ut ungerem te in regem super populum ejus Israël: nunc ergo audi vocem Domini.

And Samuel said to Saul: The Lord sent me to anoint thee king over his people Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the Lord:

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.

Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum: Recensui quæcumque fecit Amalec Israëli: quomodo restitit ei in via cum ascenderet de Ægypto.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I have reckoned up all that Amalec hath done to Israel: how he opposed them in the way when they came up out of Egypt.

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.

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.

Now therefore go, and smite Amalec, and utterly destroy all that he hath: spare him not, nor covet any thing that is his: but slay both man and woman, child and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

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.

Præcepit itaque Saul populo, et recensuit eos quasi agnos: ducenta millia peditum, et decem millia virorum Juda.

So Saul commanded the people, and numbered them as lambs: two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand of the men of Juda.

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.

Cumque venisset Saul usque ad civitatem Amalec, tetendit insidias in torrente.

And when Saul was come to the city of Amalec, he laid ambushes in the torrent.

With these, Saul marched to Amalec’s capital, and laid an ambush in the ravine there;

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.

And Saul said to the Cinite: Go, depart and get ye down from Amalec: lest I destroy thee with him. For thou hast shewn kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. And the Cinite departed from the midst of Amalec.

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,

Percussitque Saul Amalec ab Hevila donec venias ad Sur, quæ est e regione Ægypti.

And Saul smote Amalec from Hevila, until thou comest to Sur, which is over against Egypt.

and Saul routed the Amalecites, driving them before him all the way from Hevila to Sur, on the confines of Egypt.

Et apprehendit Agag regem Amalec vivum: omne autem vulgus interfecit in ore gladii.

And he took Agag the king of Amalec alive: but all the common people he slew with the edge of the sword.

He captured Agag, the Amalecite king, but although he put all the common folk to the sword,

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.

And Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the flocks of sheep and of the herds, and the garments and the rams, and all that was beautiful, and would not destroy them: but every thing that was vile and good for nothing, that they destroyed.

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.

Factum est autem verbum Domini ad Samuel, dicens:

And the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying:

And the Lord’s word came to Samuel,

Pœnitet me quod constituerim Saul regem: quia dereliquit me, et verba mea opere non implevit. Contristatusque est Samuel, et clamavit ad Dominum tota nocte.

It repenteth me that I have made Saul king: for he hath forsaken me, and hath not executed my commandments. And Samuel was grieved, and he cried unto the Lord all night.

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.

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.

And when Samuel rose early, to go to Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, that Saul was come to Carmel, and had erected for himself a triumphant arch, and returning had passed on, and gone down to Galgal. And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul was offering a holocaust to the Lord out of the choicest of the spoils which he had brought from Amalec.

At early dawn he rose up, resolved to find Saul that same morning; Saul, he was told, upon reaching the town of Carmel, 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.

Et cum venisset Samuel ad Saul, dixit ei Saul: Benedictus tu Domino: implevi verbum Domini.

And when Samuel was come to Saul, Saul said to him: Blessed be thou of the Lord, I have fulfilled the word of the Lord.

The Lord’s blessing on thee, was Saul’s greeting to him; I have fulfilled the divine command.

Dixitque Samuel: Et quæ est hæc vox gregum, quæ resonat in auribus meis, et armentorum, quam ego audio?

And Samuel said: What meaneth then this bleating of the flocks, which soundeth in my ears, and the lowing of the herds, which I hear?

And this bleating of sheep, Samuel asked, that comes to my ears, this lowing of oxen that I hear?

Et ait Saul: De Amalec adduxerunt ea: pepercit enim populus melioribus ovibus et armentis ut immolarentur Domino Deo tuo, reliqua vero occidimus.

And Saul said: They have brought them from Amalec: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the herds that they might be sacrificed to the Lord thy God, but the rest we have slain.

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.

Ait autem Samuel ad Saul: Sine me, et indicabo tibi quæ locutus sit Dominus ad me nocte. Dixitque ei: Loquere.

And Samuel said to Saul: Suffer me, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said to him: Speak.

May I tell thee, asked Samuel, the message the Lord has given me in the night? and when Saul bade him speak out,

Et ait Samuel: Nonne cum parvulus esses in oculis tuis, caput in tribubus Israël factus es? unxitque te Dominus in regem super Israël,

And Samuel said: When thou wast a little one in thy own eyes, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed thee to be king over Israel.

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,

et misit te Dominus in viam, et ait: Vade, et interfice peccatores Amalec, et pugnabis contra eos usque ad internecionem eorum?

And the Lord sent thee on the way, and said: Go, and kill the sinners of Amalec, and thou shalt fight against them until thou hast utterly destroyed them.

and sent thee on an errand; Up, he said, destroy the sinful men of Amalec, smiting them down till none is left.

Quare ergo non audisti vocem Domini: sed versus ad prædam es, et fecisti malum in oculis Domini?

Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of the Lord: but hast turned to the prey, and hast done evil in the eyes of the Lord.

How is it thou didst not obey the Lord’s command? Why didst thou fall to plundering, in defiance of the Lord’s will?

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.

And Saul said to Samuel: Yea I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and have walked in the way by which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalec, and Amalec I have slain.

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.

Tulit autem de præda populus oves et boves, primitias eorum quæ cæsa sunt, ut immolet Domino Deo suo in Galgalis.

But the people took of the spoils sheep and oxen, as the firstfruits of those things that were slain, to offer sacrifice to the Lord their God in Galgal.

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.

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.

And Samuel said: Doth the Lord desire holocausts and victims, and not rather that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices: and to hearken rather than to offer the fat or rams.

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.

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.

Because it is like the sin of witchcraft, to rebel: and like the crime of idolatry, to refuse to obey. Forasmuch therefore as thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord hath also rejected thee from being king.

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.

Dixitque Saul ad Samuelem: Peccavi, quia prævaricatus sum sermonem Domini et verba tua, timens populum, et obediens voci eorum.

And Saul said to Samuel: I have sinned because I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words, fearing the people, and obeying their voice.

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.

Sed nunc porta, quæso, peccatum meum, et revertere mecum, ut adorem Dominum.

But now bear, I beseech thee, my sin, and return with me, that I may adore the Lord.

Grant that sin forgiveness; let me have thy company, while I go back to pay the Lord worship.

Et ait Samuel ad Saul: Non revertar tecum, quia projecisti sermonem Domini, et projecit te Dominus ne sis rex super Israël.

And Samuel said to Saul: I will not return with thee, because thou hath rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

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.

Et conversus est Samuel ut abiret: ille autem apprehendit summitatem pallii ejus, quæ et scissa est.

And Samuel turned about to go away: but he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

With that, Samuel turned to go, and the other caught him by the border of his cloak, which tore in his hand.

Et ait ad eum Samuel: Scidit Dominus regnum Israël a te hodie, et tradidit illud proximo tuo meliori te.

And Samuel said to him: The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to thy neighbour who is better than thee.

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.

Porro triumphator in Israël non parcet, et pœnitudine non flectetur: neque enim homo est ut agat pœnitentiam.

But the triumpher in Israel will not spare, and will not be moved to repentance: for he is not a man that he should repent.

He who wins victories for Israel does not spare, does not relent; not his to alter his purpose like mortal men.

At ille ait: Peccavi: sed nunc honora me coram senioribus populi mei et coram Israël, et revertere mecum, ut adorem Dominum Deum tuum.

Then he said: I have sinned: yet honour me now before the ancients of my people, and before Israel, and return with me, that I may adore the Lord thy God.

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.

Reversus ergo Samuel secutus est Saulem: et adoravit Saul Dominum.

So Samuel turned again after Saul: and Saul adored the Lord.

Thereupon Samuel turned back and went with him, and worship he did.

Dixitque Samuel: Adducite ad me Agag regem Amalec. Et oblatus est ei Agag, pinguissimus et tremens. Et dixit Agag: Siccine separat amara mors?

And Samuel said: Bring hither to me Agag the king of Amalec. And Agag was presented to him very fat, and trembling. And Agag said: Doth bitter death separate in this manner?

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.

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.

And Samuel said: As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed him in pieces before the Lord in Galgal.

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.

Abiit autem Samuel in Ramatha: Saul vero ascendit in domum suam in Gabaa.

And Samuel departed to Ramatha: but Saul went up to his house in Gabaa.

So Samuel went back to Ramatha, and Saul to his home at Gabaa,

Et non vidit Samuel ultra Saul usque ad diem mortis suæ: verumtamen lugebat Samuel Saulem, quoniam Dominum pœnitebat quod constituisset eum regem super Israël.

And Samuel saw Saul no more till the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, because the Lord repented that he had made him king over Israel.

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.