11. “I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the lord all night.
12. Early the next morning Samuel went to find Saul. Someone told him, “Saul went to the town of Carmel to set up a monument to himself; then he went on to Gilgal.”
13. When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. “May the lord bless you,” he said. “I have carried out the lord’s command!”
14. “Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear?” Samuel demanded.
15. “It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle,” Saul admitted. “But they are going to sacrifice them to the lord your God. We have destroyed everything else.”