Saul was so deeply humiliated by these words and by the stern and austere attitude which the prophet adopted that he confessed his fault and, in the effort to prevent him from going away, he seized Samuel's robe so firmly that it was torn. Samuel then said, "This is a sign: God will tear thy kingly dignity from thee and will give it to a better man, even though Israel be torn asunder in the act." Once more Saul entreated the prophet. "At least honour me now before the elders of my tribe and of Israel, and return with me."[18] In consideration of this entreaty, Samuel accompanied him to the altar, where the king humbled himself before God. Samuel then ordered that the fettered king Agag should be led forth. The Amalekite king exclaimed in his fear, "Oh! how bitter, how bitter is death!"[18] To this exclamation Samuel replied, "As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women," and Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the king in Gilgal.[18] After this scene in Gilgal, the king and the prophet avoided each other. The victory which Saul obtained over Amalek was a defeat for him--his pride was crushed. The announcement that God had abandoned him threw a dark shadow over his soul. His gloom, which later on developed into madness, owed its rise to the threatening words of Samuel, "God will give the kingdom of Israel to a better man."[19] These terrible words were ever ringing in Saul's ears. Just as he had at first hesitated to accept the reins of government, so he was now unwilling to let them pass from his hands. At the same time he felt himself helpless. What could he do against the severity of the prophet? In order to divert himself, he plunged into warfare. There were many enemies on the borders of Israel whom he wished to subdue. He also pursued another course in order to impress the people with a sense of his importance. There still lived amongst the Israelites a few Canaanite families and small clans who had not been expelled when the country was conquered, and could not be ejected now. These had led the Israelites to honour false gods, and to indulge in idolatrous errors. Saul therefore thought that he would greatly benefit the nation, and serve the law of Israel, if he removed these idolatrous neighbours, and everything that was foreign. Among the strangers who had been suffered to remain were the men of Gibeon, they having voluntarily submitted to the conquering Israelites. Saul did not respect the oath given to the Gibeonites, but ordered a wholesale massacre amongst them, from which but few escaped.