1 Samuel 13:13

13 Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have behaved foolishly! You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God which he commanded you. For then, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

1 Samuel 13:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 13:13

And Samuel said to Saul, thou hast done foolishly
Not by intruding himself into the priest's office, with that he is not charged, but not waiting the full time till Samuel came; which showed his impatience, disregard to Samuel, and distrust of God; and though he thought he had acted wisely, and taken the proper precautions in his circumstances, yet he acted foolishly; and though a king, Samuel being a prophet of the Lord, and in his name, spared not to tell him so:

thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he
commanded thee;
by his prophet, that he should wait seven days for his coming, who would then offer sacrifices, and tell him what he should do; and not to keep the commandment of God was acting a foolish part:

for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for
ever;
that is, for a long time, on his son, and son's son; and then, according to promise and prophecy, it would come to one of the tribe of Judah; but now seeing he had acted such a part, it should not continue long in his family, no longer than his own life, and quickly come into other hands.

1 Samuel 13:13 In-Context

11 But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul said, "Because I saw that the army {was scattering} from me and you did not come {at the appointed time} and [that the] Philistines had gathered at Micmash,
12 therefore I said, 'Now [the] Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet implored the face of Yahweh.' So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering."
13 Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have behaved foolishly! You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God which he commanded you. For then, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
14 But now, your kingdom will not endure. Yahweh has sought for himself a man according to his [own] heart, and Yahweh has appointed him as leader over his people, because you have not kept what Yahweh commanded you."
15 Then Samuel got up and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul mustered the people who were found with him, about six hundred men.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.