And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
Parallel translations
- WEB Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering to me here, and the peace offerings.” He offered the burnt offering.
- BSB So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered up 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 3:4And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
- Prov 21:27The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
- Prov 21:3To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
- 2 Sam 24:25And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
- 1 Sam 14:18And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.
- Isa 66:3He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.
- 1 Sam 15:21–22But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
- 1 Sam 13:12–13Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
- Deut 12:6And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
- Prov 20:22Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.
- Ps 37:7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
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
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