Samuel replied, “If that is the case, ¹  then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?”

Saul said, “They were brought ¹  from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered.”

Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks.

David took all the flocks and herds and drove them in front of the rest of the animals. People were saying, “This is David’s plunder!”

However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, ¹  and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. ²  They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised ³  and worthless.

So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. ¹  After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp ²  as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry.

He came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself. ¹  Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave.

When David’s ¹  oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry ²  with David and said, “Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit! ³  You have come down here to watch the battle!”