ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 Chronicles 10.13-14

Book: 1 Chronicles · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

11. And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12. all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

13. So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Jehovah, because of the word of Jehovah, which he kept not; and also for that he asked counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire thereby, 14. and inquired not of Jehovah: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. (1 Chronicles 10:11-14, ASV)

WEB

11. When all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12. all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

13. So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Yahweh, because of Yahweh’s word, which he didn’t keep; and also because he asked counsel of one who had a familiar spirit, to inquire, 14. and didn’t inquire of Yahweh. Therefore he killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. (1 Chronicles 10:11-14, WEB)

KJV

11. And when all Jabeshgilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12. They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

13. So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; committed: Heb. transgressed 14. And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. Jesse: Heb. Isai (1 Chronicles 10:11-14, KJV)

YLT

11. And all Jabesh-Gilead hear of all that the Philistines have done to Saul, 12. and all the men of valour rise and bear away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and bring them in to Jabesh, and bury their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fast seven days.

13. And Saul dieth because of his trespass that he trespassed against Jehovah, against the word of Jehovah that he kept not, and also for asking at a familiar spirit, to inquire, 14. and he inquired not at Jehovah, and He putteth him to death, and turneth round the kingdom to David son of Jesse. (1 Chronicles 10:11-14, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: narrator (the Chronicler), giving the verdict on Saul
  • Audience: the restored community in the Persian province of Yehud, rebuilding around temple and priesthood with no king of their own
  • Location: the battlefield at Gilboa, and the transfer of the kingdom
  • Time period: the death of Saul, c. 1010 BC, narrated by a post-exilic writer

Theological reading

The Chronicler devotes one chapter to Saul, and it is his death. This editorial verdict is the whole assessment: he died for his trespass, for not keeping the word of the LORD, and for consulting a medium instead of inquiring of the LORD.

Two things are being said at once. The consultation at En-dor (1 Samuel 28) is named as a capital offense under Leviticus 19:31 and Deuteronomy 18:10-12, and it is presented as the culmination of a pattern rather than an isolated act; the earlier failures at Gilgal and with Amalek stand behind "the word of the LORD, which he kept not." And the last clause, that God turned the kingdom to David, states the theological transition the rest of the book depends on. For the Chronicler, Saul functions as the negative example of his governing category: a king who did not seek the LORD. The verb darash, to seek or inquire, recurs throughout the book as the standard by which every reign is measured._

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Concepts:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.