7. Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt.
8. He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else.
9. Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.
10. Then the lord said to Samuel,
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!”