13 Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, "You are blessed by Yahweh! I have performed the commandment of Yahweh."
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Gilgal being within 15 miles of Ramah, Samuel might easily have come from Ramah that morning. Self-will and rashness had hitherto been Saul's chief faults. He now seems to add falsehood and hypocrisy.
And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed [be] thou of the LORD: I have performed the (f) commandment of the LORD.
(f) This is the nature of hypocrites to be impudent against the truth, to condemn others, and justify themselves.
And Samuel came to Saul,.... At Gilgal:
and Saul said unto him, blessed be thou of the Lord; signifying that he had abundant reason to bless the Lord on his account, not only that he had anointed him king, but had sent him on such an errand, in which he had succeeded so well, and it was a pleasure to him that he might report it to him:
I have performed the commandment of the Lord; either he was really ignorant that he had done amiss; and thought that his sparing Agag, when he had destroyed all the rest, and reserving some of the best of the cattle for sacrifice, could not be interpreted a breach of the orders given him; or if he was conscious he had broken the commandment of the Lord, this he said to prevent Samuel's reproof of him, and to sooth him with flattering words.
Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord--Saul was either blinded by a partial and delusive self-love, or he was, in his declaration to Samuel, acting the part of a bold and artful hypocrite. He professed to have fulfilled the divine command, and that the blame of any defects in the execution lay with the people. Samuel saw the real state of the case, and in discharge of the commission he had received before setting out, proceeded to denounce his conduct as characterized by pride, rebellion, and obstinate disobedience. When Saul persisted in declaring that he had obeyed, alleging that the animals, whose bleating was heard, had been reserved for a liberal sacrifice of thanksgiving to God, his shuffling, prevaricating answer called forth a stern rebuke from the prophet. It well deserved it--for the destination of the spoil to the altar was a flimsy pretext--a gross deception, an attempt to conceal the selfishness of the original motive under the cloak of religious zeal and gratitude.
When Samuel met him there, Saul attempted to hide his consciousness of guilt by a feigned friendly welcome. "Blessed be thou of the Lord" (vid., Ruth 2:20; Genesis 14:19, etc.) was his greeting to the prophet; "I have set up the word of Jehovah."
They - That is, the people. Thus, he lays the blame upon the people; whereas they could not do it without his consent; and he should have used his power to over - rule them.
*More commentary available at chapter level.