¹¹ But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the army had started to abandon me,^[a] and that you didn’t come at the appointed time, and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash, ¹² I thought,^[b] ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt obligated^[c] to offer the burnt offering.”

¹³ Then Samuel said to Saul, “You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed^[d] the commandment that the Lord your God gave^[e] you. Had you done that, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.