1 Chronicles 10:14
in 1 Chronicles 10and he failed to inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and inquired not of Jehovah: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
KJV
And enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseInquired not of the Lord - On these two last verses the Targum speaks thus: “And Saul died for the transgression by which he transgressed against the Word of the Lord, and because he did not keep the commandment of the Lord when he warred against the house of Amalek; and because he consulted Pythons, and sought oracular answers from them.
This site's exposition
enquired not of the Lord
The verdict closes on one clause: he enquired not of the Lord, therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that Saul had inquired in form at Endor the night before, but not in the spirit of a humble penitent, a mockery of the real thing rather than its substance. The kingdom does not pass to David by conquest in this telling; it turns to him the moment Saul's own inquiry fails, and the next chapter opens with all Israel gathering to crown him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Saul slew himself, and yet it is said, God slew him. What is done by wicked hands is yet done by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Those that abandon themselves to the devil shall be abandoned to him; so shall their doom be.
Inquired not - He did in some sort, but not in a right manner, not humbly and penitently, not diligently and importunately, not patiently and perseveringly. Nor 'till he was brought to the last extremity. And then it was too late.
And inquired not of the Lord,....
This account of Saul's death is the same with that which we had, 1 Sam. xxxi. We need not repeat the exposition of it. Princes sin and the people suffer for it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
And inquired not of the Lord--He had done so in form (1Sa 28:6), but not in the spirit of a humble penitent, nor with the believing confidence of a sincere worshipper. His enquiry was, in fact, a mere mockery, and his total want of all right religious impressions was manifested by his rushing from God to a wretched impostor in the service of the devil [1Sa 28:7].
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| דָרַ֥שׁ | darash | he consulted | H1875 → | 164 times |
| בַּֽיהוָ֖ה | bayahweh | <in> Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיְמִיתֵ֑הוּ | vaymitehu | and he put to death him | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וַיַּסֵּב֙ | vaiyasev | and he turned over | H5437 → | 161 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמְּלוּכָ֔ה | hamelukhah | the kingship | H4410 → | |
| לְדָוִ֖יד | ledavid | to David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשָֽׁי׃ פ | yishai | Jesse | H3448 → | 42 times |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
דָרַ֥שׁhe consulted
darashH1875 →164 times
בַּֽיהוָ֖ה<in> Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיְמִיתֵ֑הוּand he put to death him
vaymitehuH4191 →839 times
וַיַּסֵּב֙and he turned over
vaiyasevH5437 →161 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמְּלוּכָ֔הthe kingship
hamelukhahH4410 →
לְדָוִ֖ידto David
ledavidH1732 →999 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
יִשָֽׁי׃ פJesse
yishaiH3448 →42 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 13:14But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
it leads to
- Acts 13:22
After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 15:28
So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.
- 1 Samuel 16:1
Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 89:19–37
You once spoke in a vision; to Your godly ones You said, “I have bestowed help on a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people.
- Psalms 78:70
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
- Acts 13:22
Through
1 Samuel 16:1Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 9:1
Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt, take this flask of oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
- 1 Samuel 15:23
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
- 1 Samuel 15:35
And to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
- 2 Kings 9:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Chronicles

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
