So he demanded, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings!” And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself.
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.
- 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.
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 3:4The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.
- Prov 21:27The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more, when he brings it with a wicked mind!
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice made by the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
- Prov 21:3To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice.
- 2 Sam 24:25David built an altar to Yahweh there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So Yahweh was entreated for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.
- 1 Sam 14:18Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring God’s ark here.” For God’s ark was with the children of Israel at that time.
- Isa 66:3He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers an offering, as he who offers pig’s blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations:
- 1 Sam 15:21–22But the people took of the plunder, sheep and cattle, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God in Gilgal.”
- 1 Sam 13:12–13therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me to Gilgal, and I haven’t entreated the favor of Yahweh.’ I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt offering.”
- Deut 12:6There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, your vows, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.
- Prov 20:22Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.” Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.
- Ps 37:7Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
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.