I said: in the present context this Hebrew verb may be translated as “I thought” (Revised English Bible) or “I said to myself” (New American Bible).

Gilgal: see verse 4.

Entreated the favor of the LORD: the Hebrew verb expresses the thought of putting God in a gentle mood. Some other possible ways of saying this are “have not yet appeased the Eternal” (Moffatt) and “have not yet sought the LORD’s blessing” (New American Bible).

I forced myself: the meaning of the Hebrew verb is not certain. It may be translated “I took the risk” or “I restrained myself.” Most understand it here to mean “I forced myself” (so Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The sense seems to be that, because of the threat of an attack by the Philistines, Saul felt he could not wait any longer for Samuel to come and make the sacrifice (see verse 8 and 10.8). Instead he felt compelled to offer the sacrifice himself. Compare Revised English Bible: “so I felt compelled to make the whole-offering myself.” One may also say “So I felt I had to offer a sacrifice myself instead of waiting for you to come and do so.” Knox underlines the fact that Saul felt that he had no alternative to his course of action by adding at the end of the sentence “there was no other way.”

The favor of the LORD: literally “the face of Yahweh.”

Burnt offering is a translation of the same word found in verses 9 and 10. Although Good News Translation has used the general term “sacrifice,” the translation should use the same term here that was used for “burnt offering” earlier in this chapter.

Since the words of the direct quotation were very likely unspoken thoughts, some translators will prefer to rephrase them as indirect speech. A possible model for this may be as follows:

• I was afraid the Philistines were going to attack me here in Gilgal. And since I had done nothing to win the LORD’s favor, I decided that I had to offer a sacrifice.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .