So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered up the burnt offering.
Parallel translations
- WEB Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering to me here, and the peace offerings.” He offered the burnt offering.
- KJV And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
- NKJV So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering.
- NASB So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering.
- NLT So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Saul oversteps his bounds by presuming to offer the burnt offering himself rather than waiting for Samuel. It is an act of impatient self-reliance that breaks God's command.
Overview
Sacrifice was the role of the priest and prophet, not the king, and Samuel had specifically told Saul to wait. By taking the offering into his own hands, Saul substitutes religious activity for true obedience, trusting ritual to secure God's favor while disregarding God's word. This anticipates the gospel truth that God desires obedient faith, not mere outward acts, and that only Christ unites the offices of king and priest rightly.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Kgs 3:4Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.
- Prov 21:27The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Prov 21:3To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
- 2 Sam 24:25And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.
- 1 Sam 14:18Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God.” (For at that time it was with the Israelites.)
- Isa 66:3Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.
- 1 Sam 15:21–22The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”
- 1 Sam 13:12–13I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
- Deut 12:6To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
- Prov 20:22Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
- Ps 37:7Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 13:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.