⁸ He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and his troops began to desert. ⁹ So Saul ordered, “Bring me the entirely burned offering and the well-being sacrifices.” Then he offered the entirely burned offering.

¹⁰ The very moment Saul finished offering up the entirely burned offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and welcome him. ¹¹ But Samuel said, “What have you done?”

“I saw that my troops were deserting,” Saul replied. “You hadn’t arrived by the appointed time, and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash. ¹² I thought, The Philistines are about to march against me at Gilgal and I haven’t yet sought the Lord’s favor. So I took control of myself^[a] and offered the entirely burned offering.”

¹³ “How stupid of you to have broken the commands the Lord your God gave you!” Samuel told Saul. “The Lord would have established your rule over Israel forever, ¹⁴ but now your rule won’t last. The Lord will search for a man following the Lord’s own heart,^[b] and the Lord will commission him as leader over God’s people, because you didn’t keep the Lord’s command.”